14(Mon.) - 16(Wed.) September 2020
Conference Book Ⅲ
The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula 한국전쟁 70주년과 한반도 평화전략 Contents
Overview 005
Conference Ⅲ 015
Participants List 143 Overview
Title World Journalists Conference 2020
Date 14(Mon.) - 16(Wed.) September 2020
Venue International Convention Hall [20F], Korea Press Center
Hosted by
Supported by
Theme · Conference Ⅰ Various Countries’ Examples of and Countermeasures to Fake News and The Future of the Journalism · Conference Ⅱ Global Responses to COVID-19 and Disease Control Methods · Conference Ⅲ The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula
· Discuss the development of journalism along with changes in the media Objectives environment - Share national journalism situations and discuss the future of journalism to cope with rapidly-changing media environment around the world - Seek countermeasures to the global issue of Fake News - Make efforts to restore media trust and develop business model sharing · Discuss status-quo and role of journalism in each country amid the spread of COVID-19 - Share the COVID-19 situation in each country and the quarantine system - Protect the public’s right to know and address human rights issues related to the infectious disease - Introduce Korea’s reporting guidelines for infectious diseases · The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Strategy on the Korean Peninsula - form a consensus on the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the world commemorating in 2020 the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War - Let the world know the willingness of Koreans toward World Peace and gain supports - Discuss each country’s views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the role of ※ World Journalists Conference is funded by the Journalism Promotion Fund journalists to improve inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations raised by government advertising fees.
World Journalists Conference 2020 5 Overview Overview Opening Address Opening Address
Although we may have different countries, genders journalists from all over the world to discuss the themes of fake news and COVID-19, which and ideologies, we are journalists. are global problems, as well as peace in the Korean Peninsula, as we commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Korean War this year. Fellow journalists from all over the world. It’s a pleasure to meet you. And welcome from the bottom of your heart and soul. Although we are only meeting online, I hope that you would all exchange opinions and recommendations so that we may all fulfill our calling as journalists as the conference I am Dong Hoon Kim, the president of the Journalists Association of provides us with precious opportunities to discuss major global issues. Korea. Once again, I take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude for your participation Established on 17 August, 1964 and celebrating its 56th anniversary this year, the Journalists despite your busy schedules, and I hope that this conference would serve as a highly Association of Korea is the nation’s biggest association of journalists that has more than meaningful and beneficial event. Moreover, please make your unexchangeable experiences 10,000 journalists from 188 media companies as members. here widely known among fellow journalists and the people of your country as well.
First organized in 2013 by the Journalists Association of Korea with the aim of promoting I look forward to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and inviting you all to South Korea to world peace and contributing to the advancement of journalism, the World Journalists show our beautiful traditional culture and how Koreans, who love peace, live. Conference is held for the eighth time this year.
For the last seven years, journalists from all over the world have been invited to World Journalists Conference (WJC) to provide them with opportunities to personally experience - the reality of the divided Korean Peninsula, which is now the only separated nation on Earth. Dong Hoon Kim Thus, this reminds journalists of the importance of peace. Furthermore, I can proudly say President that the conference is becoming one of the most significant events for journalists globally Journalists Association of Korea with each passing year as it expanded into a conference for mutual exchange and gave opportunities to discuss the future of journalism.
However, as COVID-19 continues to spread globally, we inevitably had to hold the event online this year. Therefore, we regret that we cannot show you the beautiful nature and culture of South Korea and the reality of the divided nation in person. Nevertheless it is equally a relief that we could prepare this event to contribute to the development of the journalism by sharing the situation in each country and mutually and healthily meeting in the online space.
Distinguished journalists,
Although we may have different genders, skin colors, and ideologies, we still share some commonalities. We, journalists, all work hard to make the truth known with a warm heart and cold rationality, ultimately for peace and freedom.
We are pleased to hold online World Journalists Conference 2020 with several distinguished
6 World Journalists Conference 2020 World Journalists Conference 2020 7 Overview Overview Congratulatory Message Congratulatory Message
Congratulatory Remarks Declaration, and again, two years ago, for the April 27th Panmunjom Declaration, but we for the World Journalists Conference 2020 have seen no further progress recently.
Greetings. Let me begin by extending my congratulations on convening Nevertheless, our belief remains firm that permanent peace on the Korean peninsula is a the World Journalists Conference 2020, held online this year due to noble goal and mission that South and North Korea must achieve. COVID-19. In fact, the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the reality that the two Koreas constitute not only a Despite its relatively short history of 8 years, the World Journalists shared community of fates but a shared community of life in terms of public health. Conference has been hailed as a shining example of public diplomacy. I ask for your continued support of our resolute journey towards a ‘Korean peninsula of life I would like to express my appreciation for the hard work of President Dong Hoon Kim and and peace.’ members of the Korea Journalist Association, who managed to put together this meaningful event in these difficult times. We now live in an era where digital technology enables everyone to produce news. However, the flood of information paradoxically throws into sharp relief the value of journalism. This year’s World Journalists Conference looks to the future of journalism through three subjects: fake news, COVID-19, and the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. I hope this year’s event will serve as a venue of wisdom to reaffirm the importance of journalism and promote solidarity in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era. As you may well know, the world has been besieged by an epidemic unprecedented in our lifetime and subsequent economic recession. Meanwhile, we are grappling with “fake news” Thank you. that spreads like wildfire.
I am well aware that in order to avoid inhibiting freedom of expression, regulations that - address fake news need to be tailored with a high level of precision. This perspective has driven the Korean government’s response to COVID-19 fake news. To the extent that such Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun misinformation poses a serious social problem threatening the health and safety of citizens, the government is making the utmost effort in preventive measures to avert an “infodemic.” According to a paper published in a prominent U.S. journal, misinformation about COVID-19 has led to approximately 800 deaths and 5,800 hospitalizations.
That “fake news” poses such a real threat to human lives should sound an alarm.
I believe this demonstrates how vital trustworthy information is. In this regard, allow me to extend my respect to all the journalists around the world joining in this worthwhile occasion.
Distinguished guests from the media and press around the world:
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
The two Koreas joined hands two decades ago for the June 15th South-North Joint
8 World Journalists Conference 2020 World Journalists Conference 2020 9 Overview Overview Introduction of Journalists Association of Korea Introduction of Journalists Association of Korea
A sentence that records history, students a chance to deepen their thinking, we host national students essay contest. To Images that deliver reality of the scene, boost members’ unity and friendship, we hold national reporters soccer competition and Journalists who are passionately seeking the truth as their calling, reporters climbing contest every year. And always standing behind them, is the Journalists Association of Korea. Having recognized early on the importance of strengthening the bond with journalists Established on August 17, 1964 based on the consensus of Korean journalists, the Journalists around the world, the Journalists Association of Korea joined the International Federation Association of Korea celebrates its 56thanniversary this year. of Journalists as a full member in 1966. It also interacts regularly with journalists of The association has advocated five principles which are the democratic development of other nations by exchanging delegates with journalist associations including the All- Korea, the improvement of journalists, the protection of freedom of speech, the promotion China Journalists Association in 1993, the Vietnamese Journalists Association in 1994, the of friendship amongst the association’s members, the achievement of peaceful reunification Indonesian Journalists Association in 2013, the Confederation of Mongolian Journalists in and homogeneity between North and South Korea, and the strengthening of ties with 2014 and the Association of European Journalists Bulgaria in 2015, the Russian journalists journalists around the world. The five principles serve as the Association’s reason for being Association and Delegation of mutual journalists in 2018. The Journalists Association of and as its ultimate goal. Korea is also continuously interacting with the US Society of Professional Journalists.
The Journalists Association of Korea is the nation’s biggest media body, boasting a current Regular exchanges with reporters from these countries are role model cases in people-to- membership of 188 company members and 10,500 individual journalists. The association people diplomacy beyond conventional diplomacy and greatly contribute to harmony and delivers 50,000 copies of its weekly paper across the nation to present various key issues improvement in bilateral relations. Looking forward, we hope to expand our network with and viable alternatives. more journalists from foreign countries.
Also, the Journalists Association of Korea makes efforts to enhance capabilities of journalists In addition, JAK successfully hosted the IFJ’s general meeting for the first time in Asia back in by hosting various forums and seminars, and providing reporters with financial support 2001, as well as the East Asia Journalist Forum in 2003, the Asia Journalist Forum in 2005, and for short- or long-term training programs or studies at domestic graduate schools. We the IFJ’s special general meeting in 2007. We also held a conference with journalists from present the annual Korea Journalist Award, which is the most prestigious and long-standing Korea, China and Vietnam in 2012. We are interacting with international media organizations award in Korea’s journalism, as well as the Award for Journalist of the Month. These help like the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for announcing the freedom of speech and the raise the status of journalism by boosting the morale of journalists and by encouraging the rights of journalists around the world. Organized annually by inviting journalists around the production of high-quality news articles. world since 2013, the 2019 World Journalists Conference is held for the eighth time this year.
Recently, the Journalists Association of Korea has been committed to ousting fake news The Journalists Association of Korea Would like to strengthen its solidarity with journalists given its escalation into a global issue and formed a committee to strengthen the ethics of from around the world through this World Journalists Conference. Of course, we share the press to promote ethical awareness of journalists. In addition, the Journalists Association status and quarantine of the COVID-19, which began late last year and spread around the of Korea is working to restore the public’s faith in media by collaborating with journalists world. And we’re looking for a role in the media for a quick end to COVID-19. And I hope you associations around the world. have a chance to discuss ways to increase the credibility of the media in response to Fake News. Especially, with the 70th anniversary of the Korean War this year, we will let the world At the same time, with a view to bolster the public role of the press, we have steadily know our commitment to peace on the Korean we hope that this will serve as an opportunity engaged in the so-called “talent donation” by sending reporters to elementary, middle for global peace and harmony to spread throughout the world, starting with the Korean and high schools. We also make donation for less fortunate neighbors every year. To give Peninsula.
10 World Journalists Conference 2020 World Journalists Conference 2020 11 Overview Overview Introduction of Journalists Association of Korea Program
Time 9. 14(Mon.) 9. 15(Tue.) 9. 16(Wed.) 15:00 - Opening Address Mr. Dong Hoon Kim, the 47th president of the Journalists Association of Korea, and the 15:05 Executive Department are determined to communicate with the public, realize social justice and closely monitor those who have power and authorities with keen eyes. Also, we will 15:05 Congratulatory - Introduction video demonstrate journalism in which we stand by the less-privileged with warm heart. Also, we 15:10 Message will take the lead in the efforts for our members’ rights and welfare as well as our people’s grand unity. 15:10 - Introduction video of To this end, we will continue to strengthen ties with international outlets and build reliable 15:15 R.O.K friendships in the process. And, we will prepare for what lies ahead with constant reform Conference Ⅱ Conference Ⅲ and innovation. Conference Ⅰ Global Responses to The 70th anniversary Thank you. COVID-19 of the Korean War and Various Countries’ and Disease Control Peace Policy Examples Methods in the Korean Peninsula 15:15 of and Countermeasures - to Fake News Presentation Presentation 17:00 and The Future of the & Q&A & Q&A Journalism
Presentation & Q&A
17:00 - Introduction video 17:10
Debate Debate Debate Various Countries’ 17:10 Examples Global Responses to The 70th anniversary - 18:00 of and Countermeasures COVID-19 of the Korean War and to Fake News and Disease Control Peace Policy and The Future of the Methods in the Korean Peninsula Journalism
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The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula
· Biography · Presentation Materials
※ The presentation materials are listed in alphabetical order of country. Conference Ⅲ
Moderator Sisoo PARK The Korea Times / Journalists Association of Korea Digital news desk editor / Chairman of the International Exchange Division Korea
Curriculum Vitae
Park Si-Soo has been working since 2007 as a English newspaper reporter in South Korea. He is also an author of two books, YouTuber, lecturer and translator (KOR-ENG). Park has featured in various TV and radio shows at home and abroad, including BBC, Arab News, Arirang Radio and TBS eFM, commenting on major issues taking place on the Korean Peninsula. He currently serves as head of the international exchange division of the Journalists Association of Korea.
Special Speaker Eul-chul LIM Institute for Far Eastern Studies(IFES), Kyungnam Universtiy Professor Korea
Curriculum Vitae
· Associate professor, Institute for Far Eastern Studies(IFES), Kyungnam University · Member of the policy advisory council, National Security Office, Cheong Wa Dae · Member of the policy advisory council for Inter-Korean Dialogue, Ministry of Unification · Member of the advisory council for Inter-Korean Summit · Vice-president, The Korean Association of North Korean Studies(KANKS)
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Speaker | Md Tawfique ALI
Md Tawfique ALI 2) It also features an understanding of the complex ‘war and peace’ predicament in the Peninsula through the eyes of a child, a twelve-year old Bangladeshi sixth-grader, Tazreef The Daily Star Ali, as an avid fan of popular K-pop, is a passionate lover of Korean people and culture. Senior Reporter She makes an earnest call to the feuding elders: “Do not Fight” and yearns for peace and Bangladesh unity of the Koreans. “They should come to sense and end the stupid war. Peace gives meaning and fulfilment to people,” she says. Curriculum Vitae 3) The Korean War broke out, as the Communist North Korea invaded the South in a bid to - Twenty-year journalism career with Bangladesh’s most trusted and influential English forcibly reunify the divided peninsula in June 1950. With an armistice agreed in July 1953, language national daily, The Daily Star, until March 2020. the three-year bloody fight halted, but the war did not, technically leaving the Korean - Attended and covered professional events in South Korea, China, Thailand, Poland, peninsula perpetually at war. Denmark, India, etc. - Extensively covered conservation of rivers, wetlands and floodplains, unplanned 4) The war atrocities, horror and ordeal the Korean people had to undergo are unfathomable urbanization and environmental conservation, urban and transport planning, water in human terms unless one experienced it on the ground. The entire Peninsula was conservation, among other issues. devasted, cities turned into ashes, civilians massacred and villages obliterated. The - Post-graduate in journalism, Asian College of Journalism, India. armistice was never replaced by a peace treaty. The peninsula and millions of families left - Received journalism training, International Institute for Journalism of InWent, in Hamburg, split along a Demilitarized Zone. Germany, in August 2004 and in Berlin in July-August 2008. - Obtained BA and MA degrees in English literature from Dhaka University. 5) Korean War was one of the deadliest in modern history, especially for the civilian population. Even the American military personnel who witnessed it, including some who had fought in the most horrific battles of World War II, felt shocked and disgusted with the scale of devastation.
6) In today’s world, we understand no people can really afford letting their “peace and The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy prosperity” be a perpetual hostage to some vicious cycle of a “military-industrial-complex,” in the Peninsula as Jessica Lee, a senior research fellow in Quincy’s East Asia Program, says these endless Perspective of a third-country citizen wars and the profiteering from war must end. So, the people’s priority for peace and prosperity must get precedence over any other. Do Not Fight: People, Peace and Prosperity matter in the Peninsula 7) A spectacular rapprochement took place in inter-Korean relations in April 2018 that brought three summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the South's President Moon Jae-in, and meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump. So, in respect to the 1) This presentation is an interpretation of historical facts and events with an objective people’s aspiration for peace, prosperity and reunification, it is of paramount importance deliberation on the woeful war fatalities that devasted the Korean Peninsula seventy to uphold and walk the path of the Panmunjom Declaration towards a Peace treaty to be years ago. This humble effort has a basis derived from some meagre experience of Korea the best tool to rejuvenate the reconciliation prospect initiated by President Moon Jae-in gathered during my 2013 visit to the Republic of Korea, to the Demilitarized Zone and and Chairman Kim Jong-un. The momentum must live on. what I had known from the Korean people’s yearning for peace and reunion.
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| Md Tawfique ALI | Md Tawfique ALI
8) So, it is crucial that the people of two Koreas focus on rebuilding the inter-Korean relations and denuclearization of the Peninsula simultaneously so the skeptics cannot brush aside the latest Moon-Kim engagement as mere theatrics. Must we not value the Moon-Kim engagement that paved the way for the Trump-Kim talks in the first place? The engagement must yield tangible fruits.
9) President Moon’s idea of easing economic embargo on the North in exchange for the North’s dismantling of large nuclear capabilities should gain ground to overcome the current US-North Korea stalemate following an aborted intermediate deal at the second Hanoi summit in March last year. One needs to examine whether the failure to reach the Hanoi deal harmed North’s faith in the process and how to restore it.
10) To pave the way for an incremental cooperation and understanding, two Koreas must pursue economic projects they initiated at the Pyongyang summit two years ago. The hard-earned progress must Not retreat.
11) A joint declaration of end of the war by all parties would be a path-breaking move for a greater hope comes true, as the US Representative Ro Khanna said in July, “If we take the first step of declaring the end of the Korean War, it could incentivize leaders of the Korean Peninsula to take action.”
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Speaker | Rinith TAING
Rinith TAING Born and raised in Cambodia, although I was born right just before the end of the civil war in the country, I precisely understand the pain and suffering that it brought to people, which Khmer Times did not end immediately even after the war is finished. My parents and grandparents also Lead Journalist & Feature Writer experience the similar hardship felt by the Korean people during the war on the Korean Cambodia Peninsula. People were starving, and families separated. Both countries had to went through hell and hot water to get to their statues today. Curriculum Vitae Today, during this peaceful times, the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Cambodia is I am great writer in all types of writing, in both Khmer and English, especially cultural, fighting a battle with an invisible enemy, known as COVID-19, the very reason that brought historical, and profile feature articles. Everywhere I have been, I’ve been recognized for this conference online for the first time. The pandemic is one of the worst economic and my hard work, commitment, creativity, and imagination. My excellent language and public health crisis of all time, but together, we can win this battle. I also would like to take communication skills allow me to build up a strong social network and relationships with this occasion to express my gratitude of Korea for a series of donations to my country so that important figures. I am also a great researcher with excellent investigating skill, anda my country, still a developing country, can combat this virus effectively. Together, I believe very active learner who is keen on learning new things and show impressive responses to we can flatten the curve. feedback. Also, amid the pandemic, a number of political problems emerges, which could lead to even more serious problems and affect people’s lives if no solution is found. And that is why we are here to discuss this.
I am looking forward to learn from your and your countries’ experience as well to share Looking Forward to New Learnings my and my country’s experience. I hope this year conference will be concluded with a Through Sharing Experiences With the R.O.K. satisfactory result, with everyone happy about having learn new things.
Thank you. Greeting from Cambodia, ladies and gentlemen
My name is Rinith Taing, a journalist from Khmer Times, and it is my greatest honour to be attending the World Journalist Conference this year.
First and foremost, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, I would like to congratulate the Republic of Korea on long years of peace on the Korean Peninsula, thanks to the outstanding peace policy established by the government. Of course, we cannot forget the sacrifices made the fallen heroes of war.
President said earlier this year and I quote,"I believe that when inter-Korean reconciliation and peace inspires the world with hope, we will be able to truly repay the noble sacrifices made by our fallen heroes who gave their entirety to the country."
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Speaker | Angel Fernando GALINDOO ORTEGA
Angel Fernando GALINDOO ORTEGA 3. The New Korean Wave: In this topic is going to be discussed how the new wave of the Korean cinema not only represented the influence of the Hollywood industry but also El Tiempo the political conflicts that South and North Korea were living in that decade, by means Freelance Journalist of movies like ‘Shiri’ (1999) and ‘Brotherhood of War’ (2004), among others. It will be Colombia discussed how these movies gave to local and international audiences a mixed approach that was from the epic to the realistic one, blended historical drama with social criticism. Curriculum Vitae 4. Documentaries: A realistic perception of the Korean conflict: In this topic will be discussed Angel Galindo is a Colombian Spanish teacher with eleven years of working experience. how the support of the Korean Film Council allowed that independent filmmakers made Also he worked as a freelancer journalist for ‘El Tiempo’, (one of the biggest newspaper their own approach of the Korean War and its consequence in the society by means of in Colombia from 2005 until 2013) and as no permanent lecturer for the Universidad documentaries as ‘Repatriation’ (2004) directed by Kim Dong Won that described to the Central´s movie club from 2012 until 2014. Currently he is writing for the movie blogs audiences the real lives of North Korean prisoners on Seoul who never gave up their ‘debatesdecineblogspot.com’ and ‘El marrano del pantano’ and for the pharmaceutic British positive point of view about the North Korean government, and ‘Our schools’ (2006) that website ‘The pharmaletter’. explore the life of a South Korean group of students who are in a school that supports the North Korean regime.
5. A contemporary approach to the Korean war: A blending of history and melodrama: In this topic will be depicted how the current directors like Yoon Je Kyoon, Kang Hyeong The Korean Cinema as a cultural reflection Cheol among others, in spite of working in different cinematographic styles have mixed of the Korean War to the world different genres to approach a fresh perspective of the Korean War to a new kindof public and show a fresh standpoint about that conflict. For this section, it will be briefly commented movies like ‘Ode to my father’ (2014), ‘Operation Chromite’ (2018), ‘Swing Kids’ (2018) and ‘The Main goal: Make a brief historical review of the most important movies and directors that have made a perspective of the Korean War and its consequences by means of their artistic Battle of Jangsari’ (2019), to give a current approach to the Korean war not only to local work. audiences but also for international ones.
Topics that will be discussed in the following order: Bibliography:
1. The Korean movies from the Postwar period: ‘Madame Freedom’ a brief review of the This first approach was taken from the texts ‘K movie The World´s Spotlight to the Korean importance of this movie to reflect the culture that raised after the Korean War. Film’ editions 2012 and 2015 and from the Han Cinema website, which is focus on the Korean independent cinema. 2. The first Golden age of the Korean movies: How the literary influence allowed to establish the first films about the Korean war, and the consequences of this conflict for the society. This part will be focus on the director Yu Hyun Mok and his work in depicting the society of his time in movies as ‘Aimless Bullet’ (1961), that showed the consequences of the war in its survivors and the emotional changes that the war have made on their relationships.
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Speaker | Ranjit KUMAR
Ranjit KUMAR led by a despotic authoritarian ruler, this seems to be very uncertain. As long as the maverick Kim Jong - Un is in power in Pyongyang, the Korean peninsula will not have tension free Rakshak News environment. A peaceful unification of two Koreas seems to be an impossible proposition Chief Editor as long as the present regime is propped up by its heavy weight biggest neighbour as a India counter balancing factor.
Curriculum Vitae To speak frankly China would not like the merger of two Koreas, as it would lead to the emergence of economic powerhouse right at its door in just a few years , which would Presently an independent journalist and contributing to various newspapers and magazines be considered an alternative to China . The unified Korea would not only emerge as an on International affairs. Worked with India’s prominent Hindi Daily Navbharat Times as economic counterweight to China but in strategic sense also , the Koreans aligned with the Diplomatic Editor. Americans , would pose a strategic challenge to them. The Chinese are already worried over Authored three books on South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), India’s the US move to deploy the THAAD anti- missile systems on the South Korean soil . The South Nuclear Bomb and Kargil Conflict Koreans also enjoy a security and nuclear umbrella provided by the Americans, which the Invited as Visiting Press Fellow in Cambridge University in 2004. Chinese certainly do not like.
Since last three decades, ever since the end of Cold War, the issue of Korean unification has been widely discussed with pros and cons and cost and benefits of reunification of the two Koreas. Experts are still debating whether the two Koreas can at all unite and form a common national identity.
Unified Korea in post – Covid world order In my view, since the two Koreas have diametrically opposite political systems, the unification would only be possible when one of the political systems is dissolved . Since the South Koreans have a well entrenched democratic polity, any political observer can easily say that the South Koreans are not going to live under a totalitarian regime, where as the North The issue of Korean unification has been under scanner of the strategic community world Korean despotic regime would also never accept and will not surrender to a democratic over, especially among the East Asian giants, as any possible unification of the Hermit ruler in the South. Kingdom with its southern brother will have a long term economic and strategic fallout on them. The 70th anniversary of Korean war is a right moment to discuss , whether the two So, the issue of unification hinges on whether the North Korean regime, protected by its big Koreas can unite for permanent peace in Korean peninsula and its impact and place in post brother, can be dethroned and the poor North Koreans can be freed from the clutches of Covid world order. the North Korean dictator . If that happens, the North Koreans would not take a minute to cross the Demilitarized Zone, as we have seen during German unification , when thousands As a distant observer from India , I would also agree with the prevailing view in the strategic of East Germans rushed towards West Berlin and demolished the Berlin Wall. circles that peace and security is contingent upon rational behaviour of the maverick leader of the North Korea who orders the removal of his closest long term colleague on slightest Giving a view from India, I would like to say that India would be hugely interested in the suspicion of conspiring against him. future of Koreas , as it would be positively impacted by the Korean unification. India has over the years developed deeper strategic and economic engagement with the South Korea and In fact long term peace and stability in the Korean peninsula is dependent on the cordial it would welcome the unification of the two Koreas, as India has been a victim of North relations between the two Koreas. With a nuclear armed and heavy militarised North Korea,
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| Ranjit KUMAR | Ranjit KUMAR
Korean policy of engaging in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. and embraced by countries from Japan to Australia and India, the New Southern policy would find a natural partner among all these countries, irrespective of tensions in Japan However I would not be discussing the impact of possible unification from India’s perspectives. Korea relations. As independent observer of the International relations, I would like to say that the issue of Korean unification has assumed new dimensions in post Corona pandemic world order. The In this respect, a unified Korea would emerge as a balancing factor in Indo-pacific area , Corona pandemic has already further widened the fault lines in the existing world order. In which will go a long way in promoting peace and stability in the region. fact the corona pandemic has accentuated this divide and created a rethinking among the international community especially among the Western world , about the nature of China’s aggressive behaviour in trying to establish its suzerainty over the South China Sea .
Before the Corona pandemic the international community was already grappling with China’s aggressive economic dominance and making the rest of world dependent on them. The Western community feared China’s technological and economic dominance and its manoeuvres to make the rest of the world dependent on them, which has destroyed the manufacturing bases all over the world, from US to India to Europe and Africa. The way China has been promoting its 5-G technology companies, leading to the fears of data security breach from USA to India to Australia and Europe, was under discussion among the strategic elites of these countries.
However in spite of Chinese claims , the spread of corona virus to rest of the world has led to strong anger and resentment against Chinese aggressive policy of dominating the world both economically and strategically.
In this fast changing post corona world environment , there seems to be a strong prospect of process of realignment to begin , among nations , who earlier did not dare to speak against China. Countries from Australia to Canada to Germany , are having a rethink on continuing the same level of trust and cordial relations with China.
In this background, an Unified Korea would heavily impact the strategic scene in East Asia , as two Koreas after merger would emerge as an economic powerhouse not only in the region but also in the world. The South Koreans are already world’s 11th largest economy. The unified Koreans are likely to eat away most of the economic and strategic gains the Chinese have made in past decades.
To preserve and promote its new found strength a Unified Korea would like to further strengthen the New Southern Policy of present Moon Jae –In regime. Though there seems to be an ambivalent attitude towards free and open Indo- pacific policy propagated by USA
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Speaker | Neha BANKA
Neha BANKA “Close to the border between North Korea and South Korea at the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a small grey statue that features the flags of 22 countries The Indian Express that participated in the Korean War under the UN Command, helmed by the United States. Senior Sub-Editor The North Korean border just steps away, makes this statue easy to miss if one isn’t paying India attention. Among the flags featured, one is that of India, the saffron colour having faded away due to years of exposure to the elements, but the navy blue Ashoka Chakra in the Curriculum Vitae middle and the India green band below are still distinct.”
Neha Banka is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express newspaper, based in Kolkata, India Just like that little flag is easy to miss for visitors to the DMZ, few are aware of India’s and reports primarily on Asia with a focus on the Korean Peninsula. Most recently, she was innumerable contributions during the war years and my news report was an attempt to awarded a fellowship by the Korean Press Foundation that allowed her to report from Seoul highlight some of these contributions. Within the designated time frame, it really isn’t on issues pertaining to South Korea and India's diplomatic relations, South Korean culture possible to focus on all aspects, but I’ll try to cover as much as I can. In this report, I tell India’s and politics and the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War. She graduated from Columbia story from the perspective of surviving Indian veterans of the war and how they remember University in New York City with a Masters in Journalism and has reported from several their time in Korea, along with the perspective of researchers and India’s diplomats, of how countries around the world. She also reported from the DPRK-US Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam they view the Korean War in retrospect. in 2019 and hopes to further pursue a career as a foreign correspondent, focussing on diplomatic affairs in East Asia and Southeast Asia. India’s role is interesting, because unlike the other parties involved in the war, including those that sent forces to fight in the Korean Peninsula as part of the UN Command, India didn’t really have any specific geo-political interests in the region. India’s perspective at that time was just that the Korean Peninsula shouldn’t become another theatre of the Cold War. So why then did Indian forces find themselves in Korea? The story starts a little before the start of the Korean War. India’s lesser-known roles during the Korean War A little more than a year after India attained independence in 1947, the UN officially recognised the Republic of Korea in December 1948. India’s representative to the UN, K.P.S 안녕하세요. Menon, a brilliant diplomat, although against the division of Korea, found himself in favour of US draft resolutions for general elections in South Korea, in the interest of India’s wider My name is Neha Banka and I am a journalist based in Kolkata, India. I work as a Senior diplomatic relations. Sub-Editor for The Indian Express, one of India’s oldest and largest newspapers. I report primarily on the Korean Peninsula, East Asia and Southeast Asia for the publication. I want to In 1950, following North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, the UN Security Council passed the talk about a subject that doesn’t often find mention in discussions pertaining to the Korean Resolution 82 in June that year and called on member countries for assistance. It was the War; and that is India’s role prior to, during and after the Korean War was halted in 1953. start of the Korean War.
On the 70th anniversary of the war this past July, I did a special news series for The 22 countries stepped in to contribute to the UN Command under US forces, including India. Indian Express, where among other subjects, I reported on some of India’s lesser-known India’s then Prime Minister Jawarhlal Nehru however, wasn’t enthusiastic about plunging contributions. I want to start by quoting a paragraph from my news report on this subject headlong into the war. India had just attained independence only three years before the to put the story in context: start of the Korean War, from approximately two centuries of brutal rule under the British,
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| Neha BANKA | Neha BANKA and the newly independent country wasn’t very keen on getting involved in a distant war. war. This proposal was accepted by the UN after initial reluctance by China and Russia, and India was placed at the helm of this commission. In an interview for this new story, India’s Ambassador to South Korea, Mr. Skand Tayal who served between 2008-2011, and has also written a book on South Korea told me something India’s stance was clear: under the provisions of the Geneva Prisoners of War Convention, I found very interesting: “Nehru believed that Asia should decide its own fate. Syngman force could not be used against prisoners of war to prevent or impact their return to their Rhee and Nehru detested each other and Rhee thought that Nehru was a closet communist. homelands. Under the proposal, the status of the prisoners who had not been repatriated Rhee’s ideologies had been shaped by his time in the US.” This gives some context to why following the expiry of 90 days after the armistice would be determined by a post-war India was reluctant to take on a combat role during the Korean War. political conference.
But it wasn’t the only reason. Indian diplomat V.K.K. Menon also believed in non-alignment in Prisoners of the Korean War who refused to return to their countries would be placed under foreign policy, something that wouldn’t happen if India sent forces to the war. And so, in July the protection of the NNRC. The four other members of this committee were Switzerland 1952, India sent the 60 Para Field Ambulance, a field ambulance with an attached surgical and Sweden to represent the Western Bloc, with Poland and Czechoslovakia to represent unit under Lieutenant Colonel A.G. Rangaraj that was attached to the 27th Commonwealth the Communist Bloc. Brigade in Korea. India was tasked with sending a Custodian Force comprising military and civilian personnel So India was providing assistance to the Commonwealth Forces, only not in a combative who would ensure the welfare of all prisoners of war who did not wish to be repatriated. role in allegiance to its foreign policy at that time and was also contributing to peace in the At the helm of the entire operation were India’s Lieutenant General K. S. Thimayya, DSO, Korean Peninsula in its own way. This unit remained in Korea, providing essential medical chairing the NNRC, and Major General S. P. P. Thorat, DSO, commanding the CFI. services to those who required it till the Korean War halted, and even later on. The mission of this Indian Field Ambulance therefore, was to tend the sick and wounded soldiers under India’s instructions to the CFI were clear: under no circumstances were troops to assume the UN Command and to also provide medical assistance to local Korean hospitals. political affiliations and were reminded to ensure neutrality during their mission. They were also not permitted to engage in force, coercion, the threat of force or violence against In addition to the assistance that India was providing to the UN Command, it was also prisoners. Allowances were only made for minimum use of force but only for self defence. working as a liaison between the West and China during the war because both the West and China believed that India would adopt a non-aligned role, again since it didn’t really have The motto of this contingent was ‘For the Honour of India’. any specific interests in the region, unlike other countries. Something interesting happened at that time. The troops were on their way to Incheon, In June 1953, after the armistice became effective, the final exchange of prisoners, one that Korea on board the United States Air Force C-124 Globemaster in September 1953, when was code-named ‘Operation Big Switch’, took place between North Korea and the UN forces, they were denied permission for landing. Angered by Indian Prime Minister Jawarhal over a period of one month, between August to September. The problem was that there Nehru’s stance of neutrality during the war, South Korea’s President Syngman Rhee refused were many soldiers who did not wish to be repatriated to their own countries, and this permission for landing. And so the Americans simply sidestepped Rhee, using a helicopter included Americans. to transport this contingent directly to the DMZ where Rhee had no control.
A huge obstacle in the implementation of this armistice agreement was the status of these Memoirs of Indian veterans and records belonging to India’s Ministry of Defence show how soldiers, especially under the UN clause that every soldier had the right to their own choice. within hours of landing, the Custodian Forces set up a little India at the DMZ. The Custodian With no resolution in sight, at the UN, India proposed the setting up the Neutral Nations Forces of India set up three camps around the southern half, with prisoners of war under Repatriation Commission, also called the NNRC, to facilitate the repatriation of prisoners of the UN Command housed in nearby camps.
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| Neha BANKA | Neha BANKA
One Indian veteran told me during an interview how the soldiers had renamed this part of Post 1955, some prisoners of war who had continued living in India and had not relocated the DMZ, ‘Hind Nagar’ after the Indian soldiers who had set up camp there. With the arrival to other neutral countries or returned to their countries of origin, assimilated into Indian of the CFI, the 60 Para Field Ambulance merged operations with them and began working society. However, at the time of reporting and researching for this news article, it was not as a single cohesive unit. immediately clear if they had acquired Indian citizenship over the years.
This veteran also told me how he went back to South Korea many years later and met with India’s former ambassador to South Korea, Mr. Skand Tayal had some very interesting some locals who had survived the war. “The locals still remembered (Indian soldiers). We closing observations that he mentioned in his interview with me: “It was very much a US- had treated injured civilians as well. The US Army would refuse medical treatment to many led war. During the Korean War, India’s Ambassador to China, K.M. Panikkar served as a civilians because they wanted to keep supplies for themselves and their allies. But our duty mediator between Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and the UN. Many sane voices at that time, was not related to fighting. It was humanitarian,” the veteran had said. including Mr. Panniker’s, said that the UN forces were to be against war.”
By December 1953, final decisions regarding the future of the remaining prisoners of war “The UN’s role was not to reunify Korea, but to stop the war. However, events unfolded in were underway. The UN Command made final attempts at convincing prisoners of war, a a way that the very opposite occurred. The people of Korea did not want the division. It group that included at least 23 Americans and one British soldier, to return home. Not one was really a war between the Soviet Union, China and the US, because the Americans had agreed. Another month was allotted to deliberate on the future of the prisoners of war since the army, resources and the will to fight communism. It was a war between capitalism and the discussions had ended in a stalemate. communism.”
Lieutenant General K.S.Thimayya, chairman of the NNRC stated that the Custodian Forces of Seven decades on, there is only a semblance of peace on the Korean Peninsula. India could not continue to keep the prisoners in custody beyond the stipulated date. While the UN Command, helmed by the US, was willing to take back its men, it wasn’t so in the My article can be read in its entirety here: case of North Korea and China. Approximately 22,000 prisoners were handed over to their various representatives while a group of 88 prisoners who had not wanted to return home, https://indianexpress.com/article/research/70-years-of-korean-war-indias-lesser-known- were brought to India to further process their requests. This group included 12 Chinese, 74 role-in-halting-it-6476030/ North Korean and 2 South Korean nationals. 감사합니다. South Korea’s President Syngman Rhee was still angry over India’s neutrality during the Korean War and denied permission to CFI troops to transport prisoners to Incheon on a Thank you. train for their onward journey to India. With the support of UN Command troops guarding this train, the CFI set sail for India, along with the prisoners on five ships to the Indian city of Madras, now called Chennai.
Soon after the prisoners of war arrived in India, two Chinese nationals and four North Korean nationals wanted to return to their countries and India facilitated the process. The Indian government did not wish to indefinitely look after the remaining 82 prisoners of war in the country and records show that India did not receive financial assistance from the UN for related expenses.
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Speaker | Bob ISKANDAR
Bob ISKANDAR NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA ARE The South Korean and US said they “Remain Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia(PWI) Indonesian TOODBY MARKING THE 70th firmly committed to defending the hard Journalists Association fought peace on the Korean Peninsula, to Anniversary of The confict that famously Senior Director of Confederation of ASEAN Journalists include supporting on going diplomatic never ended, Korean War began on 25 June Indonesia efforts for the complete denuclearisation of 1950 and stopped, with only an Armistice in The Democratic people’s Republic of Korea. 1953. Curriculum Vitae The statement, which talks of the Us’s “ Ironcled Commitment to the defence of the The Korean War Represenst “ THE ULTIMATE - University Lecturer-subject International Relation, Communication, Journalism Republic of Korea ” (South Korea), makes no - International Observer for IRCOP, Defence & Peace, Military and Politics ”Forever War”, a low level lconflict fareups mentioned of working towards a permanent - Exchange visits amongst journalists around the world as Coordinator that have claimed countless lives over peace treaty. - International Guest Lecturer in ASEAN, Asia Pacific and South Asia/SAARC decade. “There is no sign it will formally be - PIC in Indonesian National Press Day ( HPN ) in February every year to arrange, invite and concluded anytime soon. One of the questions that is on the mind coordinate international guests to participate the event eg Ambassadors, UN Reps etc But while Seoul continues to push for of many propenents for Korean peace a permanent peace treaty, the greatest is why the two countries, even after to priority for its ally the US has now be came many decades have passed, are not closer, the need to remove North Korean leader despite various agreements for peace and Kim Yong Un’s nuclear arsenal, which could reconciliation. hav e the potential to reachthe mainland United States. This is why US worry about. North Korea is now a nuclearweapons state, something the US simply won’t admit The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy Progress in talks on denuclearisation has, to or craft policies to mitigate. Instead, in The Korean Peninsula like inter relations, spralled rapidly downhill Washington demands Pyongyang surrender sice the historic summit between Mr. Kim its nuclear arsenal- its only security, and Mr. Trump in Singapore, in June 2018. the ultimate military insurance policy - something most likely it will never do. Many A suspension of Military deplay ments has experts have suggested Kim’s ultimate goal been ordered by North Korean Leader. To in talking to the US is to gain reconcilation as the border that would have undone all the a nuclear power. whilst the US progress made.
In 2018, but levels of tension remain very hight. And Sound Korea marked by issuing a joint statement reminding Pyongyang to “ Meet its Commitments” made in Singapore, when Mr. Kim pledged to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
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| Bob ISKANDAR | Bob ISKANDAR
Highlighted the rivalry among the major devided famililies. have tackled this issue have done-and gain HOW NICE TO BE TOGETHER LIKE THIS WHICH NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THIS powers as one of the big reasons preventing politically from this act. This will all give them TWO KOREAS WILL BECOME TOGETHER AS BIG FAMILLIES the Two Koreans from achieving price in the the ability later to make tough compromises AND IN UNITY FOREVER last 70 years. There are also domestic factors that will be needed to continue any sort “South Korea has been ineffective without of peace drive-such as embracing arms a leader who could unite South Koreas control first instead of demanding North before uniting the two Koreans. South Korea completely hand ove all of its nuclear Korea first need a leader with “Sophisticated weapons”. understanding of global politics and wisdom to hell South Korea is polarized politics” before talking about unification. The involved parties need to “ To work together seriously, strategically, in a UNITY IS WHAT KOREAN PEOPLE WANTED EITHER FROM THE NORTH KOREA NOR SOUTH KOREA. WE ALL SUPPORT sustained fashioned and in a good faith to FOR THE UNITY. HAPPY HARD TALKING WITH SMILE build trust through simultaneous, phased action for action- for-action on a range of issues including denuclearization of North Korea, economic cooperation, military- confidence-building and people-to -people exchange. For a real breakthrough for a peace, a declaration of the end of war is To overcome the current impasse and defuse seen as curcial. political tension, the key parties concerned - the two Koreans, US and China - should keep diplomatic channels open. “ The first rule of keeping tensions down is to keep channels of dialogue open ”. All for parties reduce risks of conflict by staying at table, even when negotiations are not making progress. The US and China can suppot the two Koreans are reducing or severing the lines or communications, as is accuring at present. Experts highlihghted that efforts toward mutual trust, copperation and “By ending the Korean war, if Donald various exchanges must countinue despite Trumph, Moon-in and Kim Jong-Un were all the current difficulties. Such efforts can lead to sign some sort of agreement, they would to actual outcomes, such as reunions of all do something that no other leaders that
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Speaker | Eddy SUPRATO
Eddy SUPRATO majority of earth's inhabitants want access to the internet as a basic human right. In a Masagar News / RCTI global survey involving 27,000 respondents from 26 countries, 79% of respondents wanted Managing director /Former Chief Editor/ Former Alliance internet access to be recognized as a human right. Journalists independence Indonesia President Indonesia This desire seems reasonable, considering that the internet has become a daily part of the lives of earth's inhabitants. Still according to the same survey, the internet is the main Curriculum Vitae source of information for humans (47% of respondents), a means of social relations (32% of respondents), a source of entertainment (12% of respondents) and suggestions for buying Eddy Suprapto is a journalist for 20 years. Lastly, he became the Chief Editor of RCTI TV. Now goods and services (5% of respondents). managing Platform Content. Author of the Panglima TNI book, songwriter and film script writer, economic opinion writer. Hobby climbing mountains. So powerful is the internet for human life, the inhabitants of this earth want freedom in cyberspace. According to 78% of respondents, cyberspace is a place where they can feel free. Meanwhile, 90% of respondents stated that the internet is their place of learning, and 51% of respondents stated that the internet is the most comfortable place for social interaction through means such as Facebook or Myspace. Peaceful Journalism in the Digital Age Regarding freedom of expression, the views of people on this earth are divided. As many as 48% of respondents stated that the internet is a safe place to express opinions, while 49% stated otherwise. The 21st century is often referred to as the digital age. In the 21st century the governance of communication and communication production has changed. Without realizing it, the Whatever their opinion of the internet, the people of this earth want democracy on the internet has changed the way the media industry looks and looks. The presence of the internet. As many as 53% of respondents wanted there to be no internet regulation. This convergence media has broken down the barriers of print journalism, television and radio. shows, self-regulation is an option for the world's internet citizens. Converged media offers a multiplatform journalism, blending text, images, sound and audiovisual. However, the tendency of people who want democracy on the internet often clashes with the political interests of authoritarian government. Internet has brought progress in various aspects of human life, politics, economy and social life. In political life, the internet has become a significant means of communication and Democracy VS Fake News political mobilization. In fact, in some world, state leaders control power and take public policies via twitter. Even the 21st century has shifted the role of journalists in reporting. In several countries the desire for democracy on the internet has been asked by one of The presence of digital technology, the general public, is able to produce content, news the country's leaders because their twitter has received a response from censorship and and broadcast via free channels, namely Youtube. The advancement of digital technology filters. By checking the facts by the owner of the content provider. The internet has created a has made everyone a journalist, everyone can produce content. The presence of robotic number of major changes in the world and is expected to increasingly determine the future technology on the internet further weakens the position of journalists. The role of journalists of human civilization. The new media has changed our political, economic and social face. in producing is fenced off with signs for the journalist's code of ethics, which is destroyed by digital content produced by the general public. Because of the importance of the internet The dispute over democratic freedom in the new media is hotly debated. Some world leaders for human life, there is a tendency in the world to recognize internet access as a human want absolute freedom without filters without a fact check column. Meanwhile, hoax hoxs right. A survey conducted by the BBC and Workscan on March 7, 2010 showed that the are the daily consumption of world citizens.
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| Eddy SUPRATO Speaker
The digital era prioritizes the speed and response of a person in carrying out counter attacks Pooneh NEDAI in every problem. Because he prioritizes speed, sometimes the fallacy of the truth of a story is left behind. Shokaran Magazine / Asia Journalist Association President and Editor-in-chief / Vide President We have seen recently how provocative issues, fake news (hoaxes), and various other Iran negative content spread, are consumed by the public, so that they often create conflicts, even conflicts that are widespread in society. Not a few provocative media have emerged Curriculum Vitae with the mission of certain groups, or media that only spread sensations with bombastic titles to simply attract the attention of readers and gain profits from there. Finally, an issue Pooneh Nedai, born in Tehran 1974 is reported unequally, it only provokes the community to judge certain individuals, groups Administrator and editor in chief of Shokaran magazine or parties. As a result, society is dragged into a flow of unhealthy perspectives, into hot dark Administrator of Amrood publication puddles, full of prejudice and hatred for others, and often leads to conflicts, even violence Adminostrator of Hoo gallery and division. Poet, artist
Seeing this problem, the peaceful journalism approach is very relevant to be practiced by every media worker journalist. Jake Lynch (2008) explains that peace journalism is a situation when editors and reporters make choices about what to report and how to report it, which creates opportunities for the wider community to consider and assess non-violent responses to conflict. The journalism approach formulated by Johan Galtung, Rune Ottosen, Wilhem Korea, the Strong Country That Survived the War Kempt, and Maggie O'Kane aims to avoid or prevent violence in society. This approach has and Revived Like a Phoenix the principle of framing the report of an incident to be broader, more balanced, and more accurate by being based on information about conflicts and changes that occur by directing the delivery of information that has an impact on peace. The implementation of peaceful I have a perfect reason to choose the topic of peace in Korean peninsula and 70th anniversary journalism is based on the determination and commitment of the press, from editors to of Korean war , since I am from a country that was involved in a 8year old war with Iraq and journalists, to choose a way to resolve problems peacefully. now has a shaking situation to remain in peace. Iran is under a heavy sanction of US while the pandemic situation affected our country like many other countries. We are facing the But there will be a big problem if fake news full of conspiracies produced by heads of state economic pressure, struggling to stay alive under the stress of trigger of US and Covid 19. or political leaders to overthrow political opponents is produced and disseminated through new media and hopes that there will be no censorship. Finally, a strong law is what wins Iran and Korea has a long historical relationship within 1500 years through the silk road and becomes the basis of strength, then the democracy that the world's citizens want in the the latest relation was the large market of Korean goods in iran and oil trading. Korea had new media will not be achieved. The new media is moving to make a revolution through to end oil trading with Iran for the sake of US sanction. your hands. Technology does bring blessings to the 21st century generation, but in the midst of the changing new media revolution, the key remains "content". Media magnate In such a situation, South Korea has its own tendancy to stay in peace with North Korea. Rupert Murdoch said, content is the king. This means that no matter how powerful the technology is, if our program content has no weight, it is meaningless. Finally, in the midst Whenever I think of Korean union, I remeber the famous photo that shows a little bird flying of the independence of the digital era, people can speak out loud, but fake news becomes a over the border between south and north. I can feel how Korean people dare to be a bird to pebble for democracy in today's digital age. fly to each side of their brother land easily.
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| Pooneh NEDAI Special Speaker
Korea is a strong country that could survive the war and came back to power like a phoenix. Eul-chul LIM There are lots of stories, film and teathre which show the pain of Korean people during the Institute for Far Eastern Studies(IFES), war and at the same time their admirable resistance to keep Korea alive. Kyungnam Universtiy Professor I have travelled to DMZ several times with other journalists. We tried to dleiver the message Korea of peace in Korean peninsula to the world each time. Curriculum Vitae This time, we have to keep in touch online but our heart is laid in the tiny line between the brother lands wishing peace and dialogue between the two parts. · Associate professor, Institute for Far Eastern Studies(IFES), Kyungnam University · Member of the policy advisory council, National Security Office, Cheong Wa Dae · Member of the policy advisory council for Inter-Korean Dialogue, Ministry of Unification · Member of the advisory council for Inter-Korean Summit · Vice-president, The Korean Association of North Korean Studies(KANKS)
The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula
This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the Korean War and the sixty-seventh anniversary of the July Twenty-Seven Armistice. Even though seventy years have passed since the war that claimed millions of lives, the wounds it left are yet to heal or yet to become fully internalized. In addition, the division brought by the hands of men has long sustained the grief of the separated families on the other side of the border. Today, we still find ourselves confronted with a monumental task and challenge. The three Inter-Korean Summits in 2018 have facilitated many agreements that can advance the goals of denuclearization, peace, and cooperation. Still, the lack of progress in the relationship between North Korea and the United States has subsequently stalled inter-Korean relations. Differences and conflicts between North Korea and the United States regarding the disposal of North Korean nuclear weapons have become the most significant threat against peace in the Korean Peninsula. The United States sustains its demands for North Korea to cease provocations, adhere to their duties as determined by the UN Security Council, and return to sustainable and actual negotiations. Moreover, the United States has repeatedly emphasized that despite the slow progress in visible achievements, the door for discussions and progress is still open. The
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| Eul-chul LIM | Eul-chul LIM
United States also reiterated that it will continue to intervene to fulfill the four goals outlined the United States must guarantee a “fundamental solution that reexamines the antagonistic by the 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit. In light of these reiterations, sanctions toward North Korea and its threat against the right to life and development of senior officials in the United States have indicated that working-level talks are available as the state,” as demanded by North Korea. Although North Korea has claimed that it will an option for North Korea as summit meetings are not available before the US presidential no longer fixate itself to the relaxation of sanctions, the country’s effective and lasting elections in November. denuclearization is unlikely without a corresponding relaxation of sanctions of any form. Thus, both states must simultaneously agree and implement the actions that are gradual, To this claim, North Korea has consistently put forward a set of positions since the breakdown mutual, and verifiable to make real progress on its goals of denuclearization and peace. of the 2019 Hanoi summit, and it is as follows. First, discussions with the United States will not be initiated because of the antagonistic policies against North Korea, namely, the ROK– Above all, North Korea and the United States must exchange proactive measures that US military exercises and sanctions. Second, President Trump must fulfill his agreements will build trust between the two states. For example, the United States can implement a and promises, including ending US military exercises. Third, discussions will not acquiesce permanent channel of communication between Pyongyang and Washington, expand to being used as a political tool for the reelection of President Trump. Fourth, as decided in exemptions in the entry of humanitarian assistance toward North Korea, and rescind travel the plenary session of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea last year, North limitations to North Korea. Meanwhile, North Korea should implement measures, such Korea–US relationships are to be handled with a long-term strategy. Fifth, North Korea as the official continuation of its suspension on nuclear and ballistic missile testing, its shall continue to strengthen its nuclear deterrence irrespective of the domestic political cooperation with the extradition of prisoner-of-war and veteran remains from the Korean schedule of the United States. Sixth and last, North Korea will continue to focus on building War, as well as its cooperation with the United States for a family reunion event. These its nuclear power and economy to overcome the sanctions in the long-term. Considering measures should further lead to an audacious step toward officially ending hostilities, these positions, it is unlikely that the talks between North Korea and the United States will thereby officially ending the Korean War as well. Even if the measures taken are limited and resume at an earlier time, let alone show any progress. tentative at the present stage, North Korea and the United States should, at the very least, strive to implement a single measure that they agreed upon in the summit. Establishing a The Korean government has underlined the following three principles to facilitate the bare minimum of trust between the two states will serve as the stepping stone to the next resumption of talks with North Korea and provide a peaceful resolution in the Korean stage. Finally, I would like to emphasize once again that peace in the Korean Peninsula will Peninsula: a firm stance against war, a mutual guarantee of security, and a call to co-prosperity. serve as a significant opportunity for greater peace and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia and Moreover, it continues its efforts to discuss its strategies with the United States should talk around the world. With the support of our dear guests from international media outlets in on denuclearization progress. Such discussions include ideas on denuclearization, a virtuous this year’s World Journalists Conference, I am sure that the realization of peace in the Korean cycle of inter-Korean and North Korea–United States relations, and the establishment of a Peninsula will become a reality in the days to come. peace regime. Moreover, the Korean government plans to continue its commitment toward denuclearization and the peace regime across the peninsula, while, at the same time, strengthening its diplomatic efforts to implement the existing agreements made as a part of the previous inter-Korean summits.
It is clear that there is no other solution for North Korea’s nuclear problem aside from diplomacy. For North Korea and the United States to establish a new relationship and achieve the goals of the Singapore Joint Statement, which include the denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime, both North Korea and the United States must implement clear and concrete measures toward the next stage. Both leaders have agreed to “establish new US–DPRK relations” in the Joint Statement. To fulfill this agreement,
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Speaker | Son Taek WANG
Son Taek WANG people plunged and the poverty became a source of humanitarian tragedies. Third, the division was originated by an agreement between the superpower countries in 1945, the Yeosijae US and then the Soviet Union. Koreans never agreed on it. If Koreans accept the division as Research Associate a given fact, it might not be different from that Koreans admit themselves as a slave people. Korea This cannot be acceptable for Koreans.
Curriculum Vitae Fourth, the hostility relation between the two Koreas has extended the sense of insecurity · A Research Associate at Yeosijae, a think tank in Seoul. around the North East Asia. And it became a military or economic burden to the neighbor · Ph.D. in North Korean Studies countries including the US, China, Japan, Russia. Fifth, the North has argued that they · Former Diplomatic Correspondent at YTN need the nuclear weapons because their enemy, the US is a superpower nation with the · Former Washington D.C. Correspondent of YTN formidable nuclear weapons. However, this is a clear provocation against a non-proliferation · Former Vice President of the Journalist's Association of Korea. regime. It should be resolved, and the peace building efforts should go together. Sixth, the military tensions have limited opportunities for the more prosperity around the North East Asia. So, there are various kinds of agonies and shackles from the division. And Koreans are The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and the major victim of it. Therefore, they have craved the peace regime in the peninsula. Peace Policy in Korean peninsula Koreans have tried a lot to achieve the goal for the peace. There were some major progresses in the year of 2018. However, the efforts were violently halted since the collapse of Hanoi summit in February last year. Though the situation is regrettable, there is no How are you, everyone? I am Son Take WANG, a research associate at Yeosijae, which is one time for frustration, and we must stand up and run again for the peace. Considering the of the private think tanks in Seoul. I was a journalist for 26 and a half years at YTN, a cable several years of trials and errors, I think we have three missions to do. First, the South TV news channel in Korea until last month. And I think that I am still part of the journalism Korean government should secure the bipartisan support on the peace policies from the world. I’d like to thank Mr. Kim Dong hoon, the president of the Journalist’s Association of Korea for inviting me today. And, I am honored to have an opportunity to share my opinion domestic political arena. Without resolving this issue, the efforts for the peace would repeat with the distinguished journalists around the world on the issue of peace in this part of the the one step forward and one step back. Second, the North Korea should show the clearer world. willingness and cooperation for the denuclearization and peace regime. Third, the support from the international society is critical. The South Koreans including myself are responsible I prepared some points about the reason why Koreans want a peace regime and what is for the first issue of the bipartisan domestic support. For the North Korean cooperation, necessary for achieving it. Koreans want peace regime because the division of the single Chairman Kim Jong Un is the only leader who can make a historic decision. For the supports nation and the military hostility in Korean peninsula for decades is too much painful and from the international society, it is up to the political leaders and the public opinion leaders costly. Besides the fact that you must live in the fear of war, there are lots of pains. First, around the world. So, I’d like to ask all of you journalists to help. I am sure the peace we have an issue of separated family. The Korean War in 1950 separated millions of family members. As it happened 70 years ago, thousands of older generation people are passing regime in Korean peninsula can positively contribute to the global community in terms of away year by year. I think this is one of the serious humanitarian tragedies in the global humanitarian perspective, security, and prosperity. Your help can lead us to the final stage village. Second, unlike the South, North Korea experienced major setbacks in economic of the 30-year old, if not 70-year old tragic campaign for the peace regime. That’s it. Thank development especially after the end of the cold war. So, the quality of life of North Korean you for listening. (end)
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Speaker | Bilal BASSAL
Bilal BASSAL North and South. Families were separated, personal ambitions were shattered, aspirations for Koreans were dismissed. The sight of the numerous messages at the DMZ from families Asia Journalist Association seeking to find a parent, a relative, a friend, a neighbor breaks our hearts. Journalist & Art Critic Lebanon The same division occurred in Lebanon, but there is a difference. The Lebanese War did not split the country geographically, but divided its people into different sectarian and social Curriculum Vitae groups.
Bilal Bassal is a Lebanese Artist and Journalist, currently living and working in Paris, France. Between two wars, there were many common points. For example, the strange situation He is a member of AJA, Asia Journalist Association in South Korea. Gained a diploma in where the people of the same country killed one another. Years after the armed conflicts, drawing and painting from the Institute of Fine Arts at Lebanese University in 1999. He both countries today have the same concerns: They fear break out of a new war and the then settled down in France, where he studied The Art of Engraving and Printing at École terrible tragedies. supérieure des arts appliqués | Duperré Paris. He held his first exhibition in 2000 in Beirut. His second major appearance was in 2002 when he took part in the 12th Space International So, let us remain optimistic and hope that this new dreaded war will never happen again. Print Biennial in Seoul, where he was awarded the selection Prize. Consequently, his work But, to be able to avoid it, we have to learn from the past and prepare for the future. It might was displayed at the Museum of the Sungkok in Seoul. Since then, he participated in many be even possible to witness the rebirth of the united Korean Peninsula, to cancel the Korean art exhibitions held in Lebanon, France, Tunisia, Spain, Germany, and Korea. Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and let the people of both Korean sides meet and be with each other, one people in one country. This is what the South Korean President Moon Jae-in is trying to do actually, by pushing the peace efforts with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The option of peace must always precede the option of war. What kind of lessons do we have to learn from the past? A simple answer is that wars never were a good solution for the people. For politicians, it may be different, but for the people, there is no doubt that wars are not good for them. When I read about the Korean War and how it was started 70 years ago, on 25 June 1950, between North Korea with the support of China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea with In both Korea and Lebanon, millions of civilians and military personnel have died, most the support of the United Nations, my thoughts took me directly to the Lebanese Civil War of whom were common citizens. Yet, at the same time, millions of people are still alive, that has caused deep wounds to the country and people. remembering, and suffering psychologically through their own personal experience or the stories of their parents, relatives, neighbors and friends. There are many similarities between the sad events in both countries, including the fact that many international countries supported the war inside our small Mediterranean country In Seoul, for example, it is not difficult to meet someone who has members of his family known then as the “Switzerland of the East”. in North Korea and whom they haven’t met for a long time. It is the same in Beirut where people are shocked when they hear stories of how relatives, sometimes brothers, fought The biggest losers in a war are people, and for me, human lives are much more important against one another, killed one another because they were members of different fighting than political gains. From this humane point of view, I decided to make a comparison parties. between the Korean and the Lebanese war. It is the duty of everyone to work towards promoting peace because it is the only way for co- The war on the peninsula has devastated the Republic of Korea and split it into two parts, existence, tolerance and mutual acceptance. It is normal that there are differences among
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| Bilal BASSAL Speaker people, communities and countries. But it is not normal to solve these differences through Keshab Prasad POUDEL the use of weapons and arms. Conflicts do not actually solve problems. There are those who think that force is the best way to end differences or to dominate others. But this option is New Spotlight News Magazine not viable as modern history clearly shows. Editor Nepal As a journalist and artist, and looking at the 70th anniversary of the Korean War and the centenary of the founding of Lebanon, I strongly believe that it is a duty to remind the Curriculum Vitae people, mainly politicians in both countries, of the significance of peace and to stress the tragedies caused by wars. The aim is to help ensure there will be no more wars in the future. Keshab Prasad Poudel is currently working as an editor of New Spotlight National Magazine of Nepal and its online version. He completed his Master Degree from Tribhuwan University This can be done through conferences, documentaries, exhibitions, and cultural events Nepal Specializing Journalism. Poudel was also completed media fellowship in University highlighting that the option of peace must always precede the option of war. of California Berkeley. Having started journalism 28 years ago, Mr. Poudel has worked in various issues related to international relations. Mr. Poudel took part various international seminars and workshop.
The 70th anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy: Nepal’s Perspective
In terms of physical, economic, emotional and human losses, Korean War was one of the sorrowful wars in the human history. It has not only divided nations but also families, destructions of human life and property as well. This is the reason global community including Nepal has been pursuing for peaceful unification of Korea. Nepal government has been supporting all the moves for peace in Korean Peninsula. However, the genuine peace and unification is yet to achieve. Despite optimum diplomatic flexibility and genuine efforts of Republic of Korea (ROK) for peace and unification of Korean Peninsula and backing and support of peace loving people, the region is unable to achieve the long lasting peace. For seventy years, ROK has been constantly pursuing the peace and stability in the region. However, Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) often reciprocated with armed and military threat. Unification on the Korean peninsula will contribute not only to the prosperity of Korea but also to the peace and prosperity of Northeast Asia and the rest of the world. A peaceful and unified Korea that is free from the fear of war will be a catalyst for economic development in Northeast Asia.
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| Keshab Prasad POUDEL | Keshab Prasad POUDEL
Whenever the chances of peaceful unification appear in horizon, North Korean regime has The two countries have been following completely different systems as North Korea is not spread any effort to destroy the process with provocative acts. In recent years, peace, authoritarian communist regime rule by the family of Kim. South Korea is under a democratic unification and denuclearization of Korean peninsula was heading towards rightful direction. liberal system with periodic elections. Although North Korea has been using all propaganda Suddenly, North Korea as its usual strategy has pushed it again in dark side. As the North to show communist regime is best, ROK has shown no intention to force its system on the Korean regime is weaker economically, it is more unpredictable now than before. Its recent communist neighbor and emphasized the importance of building peace first. ROK pursues actions indicate that it is long way to go to see unification and peace in Korean Peninsula. peace and intend to live well together and they have been continuously search for routes that are mutually beneficial for both Koreas through peace. Along with unification, ROK is People from around the world witnessed the shocking move of the Democratic People's pursuing the policy of friendly neighbors first. For South Korea Peace is genuine agenda but Republic of Korea (DPRK) destroying the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong just a few peace is merely a political propaganda for family rulers of North Korea. days before the marking of 70th Anniversary in June. Opened only a year ago, the building was supposed to herald a new era of ROK-DPRK diplomacy and peace-making in order to Although North Korea’s violent acts do not affect South Korea much and it has nothing more ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and pursue greater inter-Korean cooperation. to lose in terms of economy. However, all these actions will actually hurt North Korea as its decision to dramatically ramp up tensions with the view of forcing South Korea appeared Not only this, North Korea issued multiple threats, cut off inter-Korean communication lines counterproductive. As a state seeking to suppress people and to protect authoritarian and massively assembled armed forces on its side. Suffered badly from economic slowdown regime in the name of survival, North Korea believes in doing whatever it sees fit in order to caused by UN Economic Embargo and COVID-19 Pandemic, North Korean regime used this maximize its political leverage. latest tactic to press the world and ROK. However, this act further exposed North Korea’s To cover of death of tens of thousands of North Korean due to starvations and economic intention. debacle, North Korean regime always takes unpredictable, irrational and dangerous move. This has been causing damage to peace and unification process of Korea. Although there are so many ups and downs, Korean Peninsula remains peaceful for the last 70 years. Economically weak and globally isolated, North Korean regime has been using all After the election of Moon Jae-in as president, ROK has rigorously pursued a path of peace means to flare up the situation to make gain. However, South Korean political leadership with North in the belief that doing so could pave for the stability, family reunion and so and people maintain their efforts to achieve the genuine and long lasting peace. They many other. North Korea also saw this move as an opportunity to win concessions. ROK’s have been pursuing a dialogue for sustained peace and unification. Even most disputed President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signed Panmunjom Declaration, period, South Korean leaders offered the talks and there are strong civil society pursuing which entailed a vision to end the Korean War and also resume inter-Korean cooperation for unification and peace. on projects such as the Kaesong Industrial Zone and the Mount Kurgan tourism zone. The liaison office was also a product of this agreement. Commemorating 70th Anniversary in June, President of Republic of Korea Moon Jai-in called leadership of the north to take bold move to end the war and paved the way for unification With shrinking economy in 2020 for a fourth straight year, it was battered by international and peace. Despite peaceful border for 70 years, the Korean Peninsula remains in a technical sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear program and by drought. UN sanctions that were state of war as the three-year war ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. added and strengthened in 2017 had a severe impact as output. North Korea's international trade fell drastically as toughened international sanctions cut exports by nearly 90 percent, "If we are going to talk about unification, we have to achieve peace first, and only after the worst loss in exports since the central bank started publishing data nearly 30 years ago. peace has continued for a long time will we be able to finally see the door to unification," said president Moon in his statement delivered in a program to commemorate 70 years on As the troubles facing economy already functioning badly because of inefficiencies and June 24, 2020. isolation, North Korean regime reversed its destructive decisions within a few weeks. UN
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| Keshab Prasad POUDEL | Keshab Prasad POUDEL tightening international sanctions over North Korea's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile Nepal-Republic of Korea Relations programs has been instrumental in Kim's decision to pursue its peaceful approach. The relations between the two countries are based on goodwill, friendship and mutual The current president of South Korea genuinely wants to improve the relationship between cooperation. Frequent exchanges of visits at various levels have further strengthened these the two Koreas. The peace can improve the security situation on the Korean peninsula. relations. Two countries celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2014. Nepal has appointed its Honorary Consul in Busan city. Nepal on Korea Unification and Peace Nepal and the RoK have concluded an agreement for the establishment of Consultation Since the establishment of diplomatic relation between Nepal and Republic Of Korea in Mechanism between the Foreign Ministries of both countries in October 2001. Four May 1974, the two countries have been enjoying very cordial and progressive relation with meetings of the mechanism have concluded so far. The fourth meeting was held in Seoul on tremendous growths in various fields including political, economic and social fronts. Nepal 23 July 2018. The mechanism provides an opportunity for both sides to discuss on various sees peaceful unification of Korea will bring lot of economic benefits to it as well. Since there dimensions of the bilateral relations and to share views on further enhancing bilateral are around 35 thousand Nepali workers currently working in Korea under the Employment cooperation in upcoming days. Permit System (EPS), any kind’s tension in the region will have a greater fall out to Nepal. This is the reason Nepal has give high importance to the peace process initiated by ROK. High-level visits from Nepal to the Republic of Korea include the visit of Mr. Mahendra Opening up of Nepali Embassy in Seoul in 2009, Nepal has shown the importance attached Bahadur Pandey, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, from May 12 to 16, 2014 to attend the by both the countries to each other’s relation. The number people visiting each other’s program organized by the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul marking the 40th anniversary of the country is increasing rapidly especially after the Korean Air began its direct flights linking establishment of the bilateral relations between Nepal and the RoK, and visit of Foreign Seoul and Kathmandu in November 2006. Korean companies are very much willing to invest Secretary Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi from 11 to 16 June 2016 to hold bilateral meeting, the in Nepal whereas some Korean companies are already engaged in hydropower projects. visit of Hon. Korea and Nepal also share mutual understanding and support to each other in various UN and international platforms. From these perspectives, the present state of relation between Similarly, high-level visits from the Republic of Korea to Nepal include the visit of Yu Myung- our two countries is very much satisfactory. hwan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on 22 June 2009, visit of Mr. Kyung-soo Lee, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs of the Republic of Korea from 25 to 27 November Nepal has high respects and regards towards the current president Moon who visited Nepal 2014 to participate in the 18th SAARC Summit and the visit of Mr. Chung Eui-hwa, Speaker twice on a personal note, and once in June 2016, he was even involved in a reconstruction of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea from 24 to 26 April 2016 leading a works of a school in Nuwakot district that was damaged by the devastating earthquake of 22-member delegation including four members of the Parliament. 2015. His empathy towards the earthquake victims and his attachment to Nepal is a solid proof of our shared values toward humanity and the importance of cooperation. There Nepal and the RoK have concluded Cultural Agreement on 30 March 2005 envisaging to are always multiple facets of relation between any two countries and it is not only the promote and develop the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of culture, art, government of each country but the people who play vital roles in enhancing the bilateral education, youths, sports and tourism. relations though various means such as tourism, trade, sports and social works etc. Many renowned Korean mountaineers have come to Nepal and ascended highest peaks of Nepal Since Nepal is a small peace loving underdeveloped country, Nepal has always side with including Mt. Everest. Similarly, every year thousands of Buddhists visit Lumbini for a peace and unification in Korea. This is the firm policy of Nepal. Along with the world, East Asia, pilgrimage. Such an exchange of people between two countries is the basic foundation for peace and unification of Korea is also in the broader interest of Nepal. Although achieving strengthening bilateral relations. peace is a complicate and lengthy process, there is no option for peace. By maintaining the peace in the border for over 70 Years, Korea has also shown their commitments to unification, peace and stability in the region.
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Speaker | Nasir Ahmed Memon AIJAZ
Nasir Ahmed Memon AIJAZ got the opportunity – although the visit was only to southern part of Korean peninsula – The Republic of Korea. Sindh Courier Chief Editor It was 2007 and 2008 when the Asia Journalists Association had invited me to its annual Pakistan general meetings for two consecutive years, and again invited by Journalists Association of Korea for three consecutive years – 2016, 17 and 18, during which visits to Demilitarized Curriculum Vitae Zone (DMZ), Korea War Museums at mainland and at Jeju Island, War Cemetery in Busan and certain mountain areas known for war against Japanese occupation-forces, was a Nasir Aijaz is one of the senior most journalists of Pakistan, based in Karachi having worked regular feature. For me, it was really painful to see such a historic and brave nation divided. in print and electronic media.He has served in different positions in the field of journalism from Staff Reporter to Editor in various dalies and news agencies. He was also the anchor For hundreds of years Korea had been a battleground for rival nations, but the last century - person for current affairs programs of television for over a decade. Beside being the author possibly the darkest in the peninsula's history - has seen it divided as never before. of eight books, he contributed over 500 articles in English and other local languages of Pakistan. Dozens of his articles have been published in South Korea by The AsiaN and There is a Korean proverb which says “when whales fight, the shrimp’s back is broken”. And Magazine N. this happened in the case of Korea.
North and South Korea have been divided for more than 70 years, ever since the Korean Peninsula became an unexpected casualty of the escalating Cold War between two rival superpowers: the Soviet Union and the United States. Korea – One Nation, Two States For centuries before the division, the peninsula was a single, unified Korea, ruled by generations of dynastic kingdoms. Occupied by Japan after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 Korea had been a dreamland for me due to its fascinating beauty blessed by the nature, its and formally annexed five years later, Korea chafed under Japanese colonial rule for35 richness in cultural heritage, and the unique spiritualism based on the teachings of Buddha years—until the end of World War II, when its division into two nations began. and the Confucius besides the history of wars against foreign occupation. The Americans controlled south of the line - the Russians installed a communist regime in In late 1970s, I often attended social and cultural events held regularly at the residences of the north, later ceding influence to China. Consulate officials of North and South Korea in Karachi, and used to watch the documentaries of two countries, which inspired me to study Korean history. Both the Consulates sometimes In 1950, the North launched a surprise attack across the 38th parallel and quickly took most provided literature on Korean culture and history - one of those was a book ‘Modern History of the South. The United Nations then backed the action to repulse the advance and the of Korea’, written by Prof. Dr. Kim Han Gil, published by Foreign Languages Publishing Korean War, which would last for three years, had begun. House, Pyongyang, in 1979, which is still preserved in my personal book collection, and served as the basic source of information about the Korea, which the Great Poet of Bengal By the time an armistice was signed in July 1953, some 2.5 million people had died. The line Rabindranath Tagore had described as ‘The Future Lamp of the Asia’. of division remained where it had started.
I always longed to visit such a country brimming with natural beauty, cultural treasures and It’s unfortunate that the Korea still is divided even after seven decades, though the other the history of valiantly fought freedom wars, and it was after almost three decades when I divided nations like Vietnam and Germany have unified.
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| Nasir Ahmed Memon AIJAZ | Nasir Ahmed Memon AIJAZ
Back in 1972, the leaders of the two Koreas had expressed desire to move towards reunification systems” under which Hong Kong and Macau retain their own economic and administrative of the two countries. At an International Conference for the Unification of Korea in Kyoto in systems, while mainland China uses socialism for its governing ideology. August 1972, it was agreed that in the first phase, the passive peaceful coexistence would be brought about through a general armistice, also including a stop on mutual defamation. According to Jeong, the North Korea is in the initial stage of transition into a market economy, In the second phase, this was to be broadened to active peaceful coexistence by including and although the North Korean government did not officially endorse a free price system, a general North-South coordinating committee, as well as highly specific and ad hoc most goods are traded at prices set by markets. commissions for concrete tasks of cooperation - particularly the reunification of divided families. In the third phase, this was to be broadened further to an associative system which In my view, Mr. Jeong’s arguments have enough weight, but the main factor hindering the would include broad, functionally diffuse and permanent cooperation commissions, some move towards normalization of situation, which could lead to reunification of two Koreas, kind of common territory around Panmunjom, and an all-Korean superstructure based on though in phases, is the involvement of foreign powers, who always had created obstacles the commissions, on periodical meetings of the leaders, and on Korean assemblies. The last whenever Korean nation took steps towards reunification. phase, as was desired, included total reunification by merging corresponding institutions. I firmly believe that reunification of two Koreas is inevitable, as only The One Nation – One Moving towards peace and reunification in phases was felt necessary, as since 1953, North Korea can guaranty the stable peace in the world in general and in the Asia in particular. and South Korea had evolved from a common cultural and historical base into two very different societies with radically dissimilar political and economic systems. But sincethe division of Korea into North and South was imposed upon the Korean people by outside forces; many if not most Koreans, desired that the two Koreas must one day be reunited.
It is their desire for reunification that in the early 1970s, mid-1980s, early 1990s, in 2000 and even a couple of years back, the two Koreas appeared to be reaching breakthroughs in inter-Korean relations, but each movement toward reconciliation and reunification ended in frustration. Whenever the two Koreas start working to reduce cross-border tensions and enhance ties through socio-economic exchanges, the prospect of reunification is being debated anew in the South.
But some experts have raised question of economic disparity between the two Koreas. According to them, the South Korean economy would be over-burdened with North’s less developed economy in case of reunification. In such case, Jeong Hyung-gon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, has suggested some ways. He says, “We have to allow for economic independence in North Korea until it narrows gaps with South Korea. … Without such efforts, sudden political integration is a dangerous and reckless idea.”
“We have to change how we think about reunification. If the people of the two Koreas can engage with each other freely, similar to what the Chinese do (with Hong Kong and Macau), I think we can call it reunification,” Jeong says referring to the principle of “one-country, two-
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Speaker | Santiago CASTILLO RODRIGUEZ
Santiago CASTILLO RODRIGUEZ blockage in the advance of stability, the North Korea’s political change from January 2018 during the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games that contributed to a rapprochement ASIA northeast.com with the South and to two historic encounters between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump. Director Spain 4. The 70th anniversary that faced the two Koreas should be the last to be held under current political circumstances. Curriculum Vitae 5. This 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War has meant that not even in Seoul, - Graduated in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid and editor for where the South Korean President Moon Jae-In remained silent, or Pyongyang, where no International for 25 years at the EFE News Agency (https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/1). act was highlighted about that conflict. Therefore both countries did not hold important - I am author of two books about the Korean Peninsula, I have lived for several years in events to commemorate the anniversary. Nonetheless, Moon once again urged North South Korea, where I was a correspondent in the area, working for the Korea Broadcasting Korea to sign peace, which will favour both parties, especially in the economic field in the System International (KBS). North and the reduction of defense budgets for the two countries. - In November 2014 I participated as the only Spanish speaker at the United Nations 6. A war that served to annihilate both Koreas with the destruction of all their structures. headquarters in Geneva in a seminar on the Unification of the Korean Peninsula, where I presented the theme “Prospects for a great unified Korea”. 7. A war that contributed to fuel the bipolar confrontation of the so-called ‘Cold War’ until - I am currently the director and founder of digital online www.asianortheast.com dedicated today. to Northeast Asian affairs and where the Korean Peninsula occupies an important space. 8. A war that involved China and the United States directly and the former Soviet Union in a subsidiary way.
9. However the war deepened the division between the two parties and thousands of The 70th anniversary of the Korean War, separated families, this being one of the most dramatic chapters of the war between the the peace policy on the Korean Peninsula: two Koreas (1950-1953), and thus technically they are still at war.
10. The 1953 Armistice Agreement was necessary due to the fear that a Third World War will 1. The signing of a peace treaty that replaces the 1953 Armistice Agreement is vital to build break out and with a Soviet Union armed with nuclear bombs. trust and start a new stage in the Korean Peninsula. 11. After this tragic episode of what was the Korean War, once the coronavirus pandemic 2. The new political situation in North Korea should serve to channel the new social, economic is overcome, it is key, and with a new president in the United States, that both North and political reality to bury the past, and with a new peace treaty it would be possible. and South Korea understand each other, leaving the past into oblivion, and dismantling the North Korean nuclear program, its only weapon of protection, analyzing the lifting 3. Since 1945 until 2020, political events on the Korean Peninsula have been multiple, as well of sanctions, and above all, create a climate of trust that Pyongyang needs to achieve as the numerous and serious incidents between the two Koreas, which has reflected not with Seoul the signing of a peace that ends what was the ‘Korean War’ and the almost only the existence of the ‘Cold War’, but also moments of enormous tension on the brink of 70 years of turbulences and tensions that have not solved the problem. The world has a military conflict with serious consequences. But the most hopeful has been, despite the changed and more that will change. Although China cannot be left out obviously.
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Speaker | Leo Nirosha Darshan SATHASIVAM
Leo Nirosha Darshan SATHASIVAM divided country in the world… The same ethnic group is fighting north-south over the vast land of Korea. The activities of some countries are seen as preparing both sides for war in Express Newspapers (cey) LTD the guise of aid. Asst. News Editor Sri Lanka There are fears of a renewed war between North and South Korea. Although bilateral talks have created many healthy conditions, the activities of certain countries are set to cause war Curriculum Vitae fears on the Korean Peninsula.
I have almost 15 Years of experience in Journalism field. I have been employed as Asst. It is common for the rest of the world to have different opinions about a country launching News Editor@the ENCL News Room, which is the leading Tamil Dailies in Srilanka and also a satellite into space. It can even be critical. In this situation, on December 12, 2012, North Trilingual in Digital News. I started my Careers as a Trainee Journalist on September 01,2004. Korea launched a new satellite into space. Many countries condemned it. Countries such Parliament, Defense, Foreign Affairs and Diplomat these are my Areas in News. as the United States, Japan, and South Korea advertised the satellite as a rehearsal for war.
China has also condemned North Korea's satellite deal, despite an agreement to send troops to protect North Korea if it is invaded by any colonies. The issue of North Korea also began to heat up at the United Nations. North Korea has stated its commitment to satellite technology to test nuclear weapons and missile technology.
The United Nations sent troops for the first time to maintain peace in the Korean War, which The 70th anniversary of the Korean War: clashed in the north and south. It was a turning point in the Korean War, which wreaked pain and loss must be remembered havoc. The United Nations has sent a message to North Korea to remain calm so as not to tarnish world peace. But North Korea continued its attacks on the south in defiance of the UN message.
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. In that sense, the South Korean pain As the army prepared for war, China deployed its troops in support of North Korea. On and loss must be remembered. Only then can the international community realize the the other hand, the then Soviet Union, now known as Russia, moved large quantities of lessons learned in war and the truth of reconciliation. munitions into North Korea.
Fears of war clouds over the Korean Peninsula and another massive global catastrophe are In September 1949, Russia successfully tested its first atomic bomb. Russia acted eagerly rife among peace-loving nations. It is the prayer of the Korean people that lasting peace to prove its strength in the war. Russia stockpiled war furniture in North Korea in 1949 and should prevail in the region. 1950 to express its interest. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950.
If selfish nations use Korean soil again to pour oil on the burning fire, it will have an impact The South Korean military suffered heavy casualties in the war. UN Security Council calls for not only on the people who live there but also on people living in other parts of the world. immediate end to hostilities the army suffered heavy casualties and retreated. South Korea's However, I in Sri Lanka also have experience of war. We have lost thousands of relationships only natural harbor was Bussan. The Chinese military has come to the aid of North Korea that have claimed millions of lives in three decades of civil war. via the Yale River as Russia's warplanes carry out heavy attacks on South Korean territory.
The Korean War is to be the strongest and deadliest war in world history. Korea is the only Sixteen million communists are to have died or disappeared in this war. The death toll in the
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| Leo Nirosha Darshan SATHASIVAM Speaker
South Korean military is to be in the millions. It is said that tens of millions of innocent South Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU Koreans were killed in the war. Former Asia N / Hankuk University of Foreign Studies War should never take place on Korean soil again. Let us pray for lasting peace on the Freelance Journalist Korean Peninsula… Turkey
Curriculum Vitae
Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu completed his PhD education at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea. His research areas include peace and conflict studies, Post-Soviet politics and the Caucasus affairs. He is a member of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and Young Turkey Young America fellowship program at the Atlantic Council. He writes articles on Caucasus-Central Asian-East Asian affairs for various newspapers in the Caucasus countries and South Korea.
The Peace Policy of South Korea to End the Korean Conflict
The Korean Peninsula suffered a long history of colonization, occupation, and division. The absence of peace makes this peninsula as one of the dangerous places in the world. The potential risk of military conflict and the recurrence possibility of war under the armistice regime can be counted as the first reason to define the current unclear situation. However, this conflict case shows a significant negotiation process in that North Korea and South Korea actively engaged and exchanged ideas on a peaceful regime as well as the reunification issue. The peace policy of South Korea might be an important example of other conflict cases in the world.
The Korean War became the first military confrontation of the Cold War term. After a long period of Japanese colonization, the struggle for independence on the Korean peninsula shaped the regional geopolitics and entailed the occurrence of war.
The Japanese surrender in 1945 was a meaningful page of history regarding the struggle
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| Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU | Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU against tyranny by the Korean people that resulted in independence. However, the process armistice recommended parties held a conference for a final peace settlement. Although of gaining independence was heavily affected by the big powers of that period, and it caused the parties agreed on proceeding in that time, the final peace settlement didn't occur, and political disputes. the Korean Conflict remained one of the dangerous conflict cases in the world. Therefore, the war technically continues, and this situation becomes a concerning point for regional From the late 1910s, the Korean people sought ways to end the Japanese occupation, and and global peace. established various political organizations by obtaining support from other countries. It was almost impossible to practice organizational behavior on the peninsula due to the high The Negotiation Process of the two Koreas volume of Japanese repression, hence the people created their ways of combat and political The Korean Conflict includes various negotiation attempts of the North and South representation. Therefore, a long period of the endeavor of the Korean Provisional Government governments starting from the 1960s because both sides always focused on the peace in Shanghai and militant structuring of the communist forces against the Japanese occupation settlement issue to realize the reunification on the peninsula. At this point, it is very resulted in victory in August 1945 when the Japanese Empire surrendered. important to see and analyze the negotiation process of the parties in decades along with their changeable bargaining dilemma. Here, four pillars of the negotiation attempts of Since the political preferences of the Koreans differed in decades, the post-1945 period South Korea played an effective role to stabilize the peninsula in regard to political and was affected by this reality, and both sides held elections with the support of the United military tensions. These are the 1972 Declaration, the Nordpolitik Doctrine, the Sunshine Nations (UN) after the formation of the UN Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK). Policy, and the Panmunjom Process. As a result, two different political entities were formed under the leadership of Kim Il-sung and Syngman Rhee in the north and south, respectively. The two sides were supported until As the first remarkable development appeared with the occurrence of the North-South Joint 1950 by the Free World, led by the US, and the Communist Bloc, led by the Soviet Union Declaration in 1972 that both sides emphasized the importance of achieving reunification by and China. However, the situation on the peninsula was still unclear because of the two decreasing the volume of the military threats and increasing mutual trust. At the same time, separate and different regimes. Additionally, their allied states withdrew their forces from a direct telephone line was installed between Seoul and Pyongyang. This step remained as a the peninsula gradually until 1950. As a parameter of the early Cold War period, only two remarkable one in the negotiation history of the two Koreas. After a short period of the war, political powers could shape world politics, and it was a potential conflict that needed to be the parties were still seeking ways of establishing a mutual understanding with the aim of resolved with the initiative of one of the sides. As a result, South Korea was invaded by North the Korean reunification. Korea on 25 June 1950 with the claims of unification under the leadership of Pyongyang. The second step came with the announcement of the Nordpolitik during the presidency The Korean War began with a surprise attack of North Korea that gained territories until of Roh Tae-woo between 1988-1992, who aimed to improve relations with the communist Pusan, the most southeastern port city, in the short term. The explicit support of the Soviet countries in the north and indirectly to create influence over North Korea for a peace Union urged the UN to prevent the aggression of the communist bloc on the peninsula. A settlement. This political doctrine emerged when South Korea was becoming a financial and military intervention came into the agenda after the announcement of the resolution that technological hub. This initiative brought together the Inter-Korean Trade Measures, Special claimed North Korea should withdraw its forces and put an end to the invasion. Finally, the Declaration for National Self-Esteem, Unification, and Prosperity, and the South-North Joint United Nations Command (UNC) formed with the participation of sixteen countries. The Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The last one was signed bloody war lasted until 1953 and left millions of deaths and injured people. As a result, in 1992 and became a significant page of the negotiation history of the Korean Conflict. North Korea backed into its borders, and South Korea got rid of the big-scale invasion. Moreover, high-level visits exchange happened as a part of this process.
The war ended with an armistice agreement, signed by the UNC, North Korea, and China The third step was identified as The Sunshine Policy by Kim Dae-jung in 1998. The policy came representatives on 27 July 1953. The armistice regulated the establishment of the Demilitarized into the agenda while North Korea was suffering from international pressure because of its Zone near to the 38th parallel that divided the North and South Koreas. Additionally, the nuclear posture. Furthermore, the economic and political dimensions of this policy enabled
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| Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU | Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU both parties to talk, and this initiative resulted in the North-South Joint Declaration in July 2000 adopt more instruments for the conflict management process and contributions of the when Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il met in Pyongyang. The declaration included confidence- conflict resolution tools. Consequently, the Korean Conflict shows a unique example of a building measures, economic cooperation, and humanitarian issues for solving the main dramatic division and consistent negotiation history. Everything done so far enables the two problems between the parties. On the other side, the reunification issue was discussed in a sides to proceed for a peaceful ending in the future with their extraordinary peace process. positive atmosphere by accepting various ideas. The policy gave a lead to ministerial-level talks, the realization of common economic projects such as Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mouth Kumgang tourism facilities, and resolving humanitarian necessities.
For the first time, Seoul achieved to implement a wide range of cooperation opportunities by evaluating the reunification case with its style because that issue would be concluded step-by-step with the help of economic and political instruments. Furthermore, the policy continued even after the term of Kim Dae-jung when Roh Moo-hyun became president between 2003 and 2008. The two states held a presidential-level meeting in 2007 and signed the Declaration on the Advancement of South-North Korean Relations, Peace, and Prosperity. These achievements made positive contributions to the confidence-building even though both sides had disagreements on some political and military issues due to their foreign policy postures.
The fourth step came after a long period of escalation between the North and South during Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye's presidencies from 2008 to 2016. Therefore, the fourth step, the Panmunjom Process began in late 2017 with the initiatives of president Moon Jae-in who accepted himself as a successor of the Sunshine Diplomacy. Declaring Seoul’s positive intentions to revive the bilateral meetings with Pyongyang, Moon facilitated the diplomacy channels before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in 2018. As a result, both sides signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula that contained reunification desires with the implementation of necessary steps under comprehensive cooperation. The Panmunjom Process made parties to realize ministerial-level meetings as well as direct communication between the presidents. Additionally, this step played an enormous role in the US-North Korea dialogue process.
In the current situation, the parties still seek to terminate the armistice regime by replacing it with a final peace settlement and realize the reunification even though there are dozens of disagreements issues that should be resolved with the determination of the Korean people. The above mentioned initiatives occurred by a long-term political will and mutual agreements of both parties after a series of persuasion endeavors. The leadership in South Korea took risks of failed efforts and rejection from the Northern side. If stabilization still remains on the peninsula, it is the result of that policy. The only thing is the necessity to
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Speaker | Daniel John DAMON
Daniel John DAMON is reported in news media is based either on corruption or journalists’ self-interest. This part of my talk will provide some detail on the challenges that South Korean journalism BBC World Service now faces in this very dangerous phase in the development of South Korea’s democracy. Presenter United Kingdom 2. The past: South Korean media including newspapers and broadcast news were developed under the influence of the United States Army from 1945 and especially during the war Curriculum Vitae years 1950-1953. Many of the regulations that governed journalists until the 1980s and which still have their effect today were shaped with reference to the threat from the I am a presenter of the BBC World Service radio news programme Newshour. For 17 years, North. In the period following the first relatively free elections in 1987, American style I was the presenter of the daily news programme World Update. I was part of the team that journalistic standards were respected and many journalists from South Korea studied in developed the BBC Korean service which launched in 2018. Before that, in the period from the United States. South Korea has its own news culture, of course, but the US was a 1989 to 1995, I worked as a TV reporter in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the former continuing influence on most South Korean journalists, encouraging them to maintain Soviet Union covering the collapse of Communism and the wars in the Balkans. their objectivity and to hold to account those with political and economic power. But the positive influence of the United States on press freedom around the world has diminished in recent years, because of some worrying developments. Foremost of these is the growth of partisan news media in the United States and the campaign by US president Donald Trump to denigrate the established news outlets, especially those which have been most active in investigating his business dealings and his relationship with Russia. This part The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War of my talk will outline the history of the United States as a positive influence on freedom and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula of expression and press freedom in South Korea and what the recent changes in the US media landscape might mean for South Korean journalists.
3. The future: the last part of my talk is potentially the most controversial but I believe I My talk to the WJC on “The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the can justify its thesis. The influence of China on South Korean politics has always been of Korean Peninsula” will have three main sections. concern. Since diplomatic relations with Communist China were established in 1992, South Korean governments have used political skill plus cultural and technological success to 1. Introduction: the threats facing the freedom of expression in South Korea and the safety maintain a carefully balanced relationship with the much larger neighbour. While China’s of South Korean journalists today are rooted in the conflict of 70 years ago. Since 2017, the influence on North Korea has never been satisfactorily applied to the question of a settled South Korean government has made great efforts to improve diplomatic and economic peace on the Korean Peninsula, from a South Korean viewpoint, at least China has since links with North Korea. Those efforts have largely failed. Even though much of the blame the 1990s not sought to destabilise South Korea. But South Korea’s weakening ties to can be leveled at the naivete of the US administration and some shameless manipulation America come at a time that Xi Jinping has taken a firm grip on China’s growing regional by the North Koreans, the failure has led to large scale street demonstrations against and global military and economic ambitions. I am not going to predict disaster for South President Moon Jae-in. Conservative demonstrators have accused the president and Korean freedoms. But the threat must be recognised and journalists protected from it. government of showing weakness and pandering to the Communists. At the same time, the economic and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have created an atmosphere of uncertainty - not just in South Korea, of course. This combination of circumstances has added energy to anti-government protests and increased the attractiveness of populist slogans. This in turn plays into the false belief that there is no such thing as truth and what
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Speaker | J. Alex TARQUINIO
J. Alex TARQUINIO their thoughtfulness in organizing such an event in these extraordinary times. Society of Professional Journalists Public anniversaries typically mark the successful conclusions of conflicts with a peace treaty Immediate Past National President or armistice, or at the very least, an important turning point on the pathway toward peace. United States of America Today, we are marking the anniversary of the commencement of a conflict that has never officially ended. Curriculum Vitae Our hosts have asked us to consider the 70-year peace process on the Korean peninsula. J. Alex Tarquinio is the Past National President of the Society of Professional Journalists in the After three generations of stalemate, it can feel like a recurring nightmare. It is echoed in United States and a press freedom advocate, as well as an independent journalist. Her work the perpetual torment in the Academy Award-winning film Parasite, when one man locked has been published in Foreign Policy Magazine, Politico Magazine, The New York Times, The away in a bunker desperately flashing signals to the outside world using Morse Code dies Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The San Francisco Chronicle and Forbes Magazine. upon escaping, only to be replaced by another man condemned to the same fate. She has often spoken about press freedom issues at conferences and forums across the United States. Ms. Tarquinio received a German Marshall Fund journalism fellowship to This is a fitting metaphor for a conflict that began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean cover the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. She is honored to participate in the World soldiers surged below the 38th parallel, conquering Seoul within a matter of days. After Journalists Conference for the third consecutive year. millions of lost lives over the next three years, during which Seoul changed hands four times, the final dividing line was drawn more or less where it had been on June 24, 1950. The South refused to sign the armistice in 1953 because it did not want to grant de facto legitimacy to the Kim Il-sung regime in the North, which had seized power by refusing to Seventy Years of Stalemate on the Korean Peninsula participate in the United Nations organized election in 1948. Ever since, the South and its allies have been struggling with how to define peace. Does it mean trying to influence the North to become a freer and more humane neighbor? Or is the ultimate goal reunification?
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I say good evening, but of course, it may be morning In recent years, the peace process has been defined by high-level summits aimed at reigning where you are tuning in from. Here in my home, in New York City, it is the middle of the night. in the North’s nuclear and missile programs after a nerve-wracking period of North Korean missile and bomb tests that began in 2017. The talks in 2018 and 2019 put the key questions Let me start by introducing myself. I am the Past National President of the Society of of human rights abuses in the North and reunification on the back burner. Then came the Professional Journalists in the United States and a press freedom advocate, as well as an disappointment in the summer of 2019, when just days after an unprecedented three-way independent journalist. I should state up front that although the facts and opinions that meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea and the United States, satellite I express tonight about the peace process are my own, based on previous reporting and experience, only the comments about journalism ethics and impartiality express the views images showed rebuilding of missile test facilities in the North that they had previously of the organization that I represent, SPJ. appeared to be dismantling.
It is an honor to participate, for the third consecutive year, in the World Journalists Conference Since then the current round of denuclearization talks has stalled. Of course, so much has and to virtually meet such an esteemed group of colleagues. Wherever you are joining us been put on hold this year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Even without these from, thank you for participating in this important discussion on the 70th anniversary of the tragic circumstances, the Korean negotiations would necessarily be delayed while we await Korean War, and above all, I wish to thank our hosts, the Journalists Association of Korea, for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
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| J. Alex TARQUINIO | J. Alex TARQUINIO
There is often a sense of déjà vu in long-running conflicts. When I first visited South Korea to A technology-fuelled economic boom in the South, driven by global brands like Samsung attend this conference two years ago, I was struck by the similarity with another divided land and Hyundai, has enhanced the material conditions for the population. Equally importantly, that I had closely observed. I reported from Cyprus on a German Marshall Fund journalism the country is now freer and fairer than at any time in its history. fellowship just as residents of the divided island were grappling with the failure of a 2004 referendum for a United Nations reunification plan. Many of the most contentious issues As journalists, freedom of speech and of the press is dear to our hearts. These freedoms were similar, such as the question of repatriating the remains of those who had died on the have been greatly enhanced in recent years, with the South ranking in the top third of the “wrong side” in the conflict decades earlier, reuniting families and liberalizing travel across Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. By contrast, the North ranks dead last in this index. The so-called Hermit Kingdom has near total control over communications the Green Line, the Mediterranean island’s version of the Demilitarized Zone. Despite the shared by mobile phone, and residents can still be sent to an internment camp for viewing failure of the reunification plan, Cyprus has made progress on some of these issues, and in information produced in a foreign country. 2005, residents were regularly crossing from the Turkish-controlled zone of the island. This contrast presents great challenges for reporters covering the Korean peninsula, and Of course, we have to be careful about making too much of historical comparisons. The the on-again, off-again denuclearization and peace process. division of Cyprus is, and always has been, quite different from that of the Korean peninsula. North Korea is in the third generation of a hereditary regime based on a personality cult That is why it is so critical for us to report the facts to the best of our abilities, without fear that has emphasized its million man standing army and nuclear aspirations over the health, or favor. Journalists are widely perceived to be the eyes and ears of the public. We are not education and welfare of its people. The current Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, has executed diplomats. We do not represent our governments, nor do we speak for special interests, his own uncle and is widely believed to be behind the assasination of his half-brother. And such as political parties or social groups with which we may privately identify. above all this hangs the cloud of uncertainty about the regime’s nuclear program. Naturally, there is more than simply first hand reporting; there is a legitimate role for My remarks are simply intended to underline the fact that despite the relative freedoms opinion journalism, and this goal of the peace process and denuclearization talks on the in Cyprus over the last 15 years, there seems little impetus for a political reunification Korean peninsula warrants plenty of opinion pieces. The Society of Professional Journalists’ along the lines of that between East and West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Code of Ethics states that opinion journalism – whether expressed by writing or recorded Sudden surprises like this, when viewed from a different angle, are often the result of many audio or video – must be clearly indicated as such. That permits readers and viewers to consecutive smaller changes. understand that the selection of facts has been guided by the desire to validate an opinion.
Two years ago, I interviewed the current UN Special Rapporteur for North Korea, Tomás But reporters writing the first draft of history – especially those of us covering subjects that Ojea Quintana, a human rights attorney in Argentina who is in charge of tracking the human profoundly influence world peace, such as setbacks in nuclear disarmament talks – should render a full and impartial account of events. rights abuses in the North. At that time, he was concerned that the negotiations between the two Koreas and Washington were putting aside the issue of human rights violations As journalists, we cannot flinch from these facts. Just as one of our hardy predecessors, in the North, where the UN estimates there are currently up to 120,000 prisoners held in Marguerite Higgins, bravely confronted the challenges of reporting on the Korean War. internment camps, and that hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have perished in them She was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence, making her an over the last five decades. inspiration to many future women journalists, such as myself. She won for her coverage of the landing at Incheon in 1950. Better known as Maggie Higgins, she said at the time, “I By contrast, the economic, social and political improvements in the South over the past wouldn’t be here if there were no trouble. Trouble is news, and gathering it is my job.” generation have been breathtaking. Satellite images of the peninsula at night show South Korea lit up like a candle, while everything north of the DMZ is plunged into darkness. Thank you all very much for your attention. I look forward to hearing your questions.
76 World Journalists Conference 2020 World Journalists Conference 2020 77 Participants List / 참가자리스트 Participants List
참가자 리스트
No. Country Name Organization Job Title
1 Bahrain Habib TOUMI Ministry of Information Media Consultant
2 Nigeria Austine JONATHAN ODO Daily Trust Newspaper Deputy Editor
Georgian Technical University; 3 Georgia Khatuna CHAPICHADZE San Diego State University Professor
4 India Ranjit KUMAR Rakshak news Chief Editor
5 Costa Rica Dennis Jose MORA GUZMAN HorizontesTV Director
Asia Journalist Association/ The 6 Egypt Ashraf DALY silk road literature series President /Editor in chief
7 Nigeria Abubakar ADAM IBRAHIM Daily Trust Newspaper Abuja Features Editor
Angel Fernando GALINDOO 8 Colombia ORTEGA El Tiempo Freelance Journalist
9 Kazakhstan Dogan IYLDYZ Kazakistan.kz Editor in Chief
10 India Sabina INDERJIT IFJ Vice President
11 Russia Timur SHAFIR Russian Union of Journalists Vice president
12 Russia Vladimr SOLOVYEV Russian Union of Journalists President
13 Pakistan Salim BOKHARI City News Network Chief Editor/Director
14 Turkey Sinem VURAL Hurriet Journalist
Former Asia N/ 15 Turkey Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU Hankuk University of Freelance Journalist Foreign Studies
16 Cyprus Petros SOUTZIS Phileleftheros newspaper Editor in Chief
17 India Ambica GULATI Independent Journalist Independent Journalist
18 Nepal Arun RANJIT The Rising Nepal Managing Editor
Freelance writer/journalist and 19 Pakistan Rahul AIJAZ Freelance journalist filmmaker
20 Bangladesh Mashiul ALAM The Daily Prothom Alo Senior Assistant Editor
World Journalists Conference 2020 145 Participants List Participants List
참가자 리스트 참가자 리스트
No. Country Name Organization Job Title No. Country Name Organization Job Title
Rasha M.Abdellah Head of psychology 21 Iran Alireza BAHRAMI ISNA News Agency Head of art and culture desk 41 Egypt ABDELRAHMAN Ajman University department
Papua New 22 Guinea Gorethy Maria KENNETH South Pacific Post-Post Courier Senior Political Reporter 42 Bangladesh A K M ZAKARIA The Daily Prothom Alo Deputy Editor
23 Saudi Arabia Yasir ALGHAMDI Riyadh newspaper Executive Editorial secretary 43 Lebanon Bilal BASSAL Asia Journalist Association Journalist & Art Critic
Alma Misilet Solis 24 Bangladesh Mahbub MORSHED The Daily Star Assistant News Editor 44 Panama RODRIQUZE Panamá SNIP Noticias de Panamá
25 Cambodia Rethea PANN The Post Media.Co.ltd Sub-editor/Reporter 45 Nepal Keshab Prasad POUDEL New Spotlight News Magazine Editor
Chief of international affairs 26 Kyrgyzstan Nurzhan KASMALIEVA Kabar News Agency department 46 Philippines Rosalin GARGANERA Asian Journalist Association Chief of Staff/ Broadcaster
27 Pakistan Nasir Ahmed Memon AIJAZ Sindh Courier Chief Editor 47 Germany Hassan HUMEIDA University of Kiel Doctor
TBi Publications Pvt Ltd Academy of Public 28 Nepal Kuber CHALISE (The Publisher of Karobar Editor 48 Kazakhstan Zhanat MOMYNKULOV Administration under the Director of regional branch National Economic Daily) President of Kazakhstan Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Rafael Enrique ROBLEDO 29 Palestine Abdulrahman B. M. KHRAISHI (PJS) International Relations Officers 49 Mexico CANO Nest Taller de Comunicación Deputy Director
30 Poland Boguslaw ZALEWSKI Polish Media Association Advisor to the Board 50 New Zealand Tim McCREADY NZ Inc Business Journallist
Indiatimes | Times Internet Pvt 31 India Pragya SAINI Ltd. Senior Video Producer 51 India Neha BANKA The Indian Express Senior Sub-Editor
32 Israel Hayim ISEROVICH Maariv Daily Foreign Affairs Correspondent 52 Malaysia Norila MOHD DAUD Malaysia World News Senior
Francis Elena Zambrano Leo Nirosha Darshan 33 Venezuela ESPINOZA Ministry of Culture Press Director 53 Sri lanka SATHASIVAM Express Newspapers (cey) LTD Asst. News Editor
Santiago CASTILLO 34 Spain RODRIGUEZ ASIAnortheast.com Director 54 Bangladesh Md. Tawfique ALI The Daily Star Sr. reporter
The Union Of Journalists Of The United Arab Ashwaq Mohsen Naji AL- 35 Kazakhstan Bayan RAMAZANOVA Republic Of Kazakhstan Executive Secretary 55 Emirates ATOLI Alarabiya News Channel Writer Reporter
Romanian Broadcasting 36 Romania Tinica-Octavia GALESCU Company Musical Editor/Producer 56 Myanmar SAN Yamin Aung The Irrawaddy Senior Reporter
37 Nepal Gokarna AWASTHI Freelance Freelance 57 Paraguay Benjamin FERNANDEZ Radio Libre Director
Dominican Luis Francisco BEIRO United 38 Republic ALVAREZ Listin Diario Newspaper Editor 58 Kingdom Daniel John DAMON BBC World Service Presenter
39 Uzbekistan Dilmurod DJUMABAEV Asian Journalist Association Correspondent 59 Kuwait Reaven Gerrad D' SOUZA The Times, Kuwait Managing Editor
National Union of Somali Information Secretary 40 Kenya Kagure Mwihaki GACHECHE Standard Group PLC Editor 60 Somalia Khadar Awl ISMAIL Journalists (NUSOJ) and Human Rights Officer
146 World Journalists Conference 2020 World Journalists Conference 2020 147 Participants List Participants List
참가자 리스트 참가자 리스트
No. Country Name Organization Job Title No. Country Name Organization Job Title
Shokaran Magazine / Asia President and Editor-in-chief/ 61 Italy Moscatello ANTONIO Askanews News Agency Journalist 81 Iran Pooneh NEDAI Journalist Association Vice President
62 Nepal Purna Bahadur BASNET Nepal Khabar Editor-in-chief 82 Cambodia Sophal CHHAY Club of Cambodian Journalists Executive Director
Chief Political Correspondent 63 United States J. Alex TARQUINIO Society of Professional Immediate Past National 83 Australia Brett MASON Special Broadcasting Service and Parliament House Bureau of America Journalists President (SBS) Chief
64 Saudi Arabia Hani HAZAIMEH Arab News Daily Assistant Editor In Chief 84 India Gunjeet Kaur SRA Sbcltr Media (subculture) Editor
65 Yemen Mohammed AL-MUHAIMID Salam(peace) Initiative Communication Engineer 85 Ghana Malik SULLEMANA New Times Corporation Journalist
Oja Noticias, El Mundo al intante, 66 Colombia Margaret OJALVO Free Lance Director and Journalist 86 China ZHU Jing All China Journalists Association Journalist
Spotflim TV News Features 67 India Neelima MATHUR Agency Executive Producer 87 Brazil Angela PEREZ O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper Editor of International Affairs
Kabar News agency / WS BBC 68 Kyrgyzstan Kubanychbek TAABALDIEV radio Director General / producer 88 Germany Tobias KAISER Die Welt EU Correspondent Environment Communcators of 69 Singapore Ivan LIM Singapore(Ecos)/Asia Journalist Chairman/Senior 89 Argentina Fernando KRAKOWIAK Pagina 12 Journalist / Economy section Association Correspondent editor
70 Sri Lanka Nisthar CASSIM Daily FT Editor 90 China CHEN Yingqun China Daily Senior reporter
The Journalists and Public 71 Lebanon Ghena HALIK Iaha magazine & asia N Journalist 91 Vietnam NGUYEN Do Hoa Mi Opinion Newspaper, Reporter / Deputy Head of Vietnam Journalists Association International Affairs Division Confederation of Mongolian 72 Honduras Rosa Maria PINEDA Newspaper the tribune Journalist 92 Mongolia Bolortulga ERDENEBILEG Journalists General Secretary
GoGo.mn news website, Mongol 73 Latvia Aivars OZOLINS Weekly Magazine IR Commentator 93 Mongolia Ariunbileg OYUNBILEGT Content LLC Editor-in-Chief Persatuan Wartawan Senior Director of 74 Indonesia Bob ISKANDAR Indonesia(PWI)/ Indonesian Confederation of Asean 94 Indonesia Atal S Depari PWI Pusat Chairman Journalists Association Journalinsts(CAJ)
Indonesian Journalists Director of Public Services of 95 United Jim BOUMELHA International Federation of Honorary Treasurer, Former 75 Indonesia Mohammad NASIR Association (PWI) PWI Kingdom Journalists President
Lead Journalist & Feature 76 Cambodia Rinith TAING Khmer Times Writer Assistant Director of Trusting 77 United States Lynn WALSH Trusting News, Society of News, Ethics Chair for Society of America Professional Journalists of Professional Journalists
78 Ireland Frank MCNALLY The Irish Times Columnist
Dan Tri Online Newspaper 79 Vietnam Lan Cu Thi under the Ministry of Labour, Editor- Deputy Head of the Invalids and Social Affairs World News Desk Managing director /Former Chief 80 Indonesia Eddy SUPRATO Masagar News / RCTI Editor/ Former Alliance Journalists independence Indonesia President
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